


Chemical Reaction

by Ali_Marissa



Series: Brigitta Barton, Albatross, Scientist [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Aunty Nat, Author still knows nothing about American culture, Clint is oblivious, Established Relationship, F/M, Multi, Natasha is a great aunt, Probs going to be much longer, Science Bros, Sequel, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-23
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2018-10-23 00:06:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 41,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10708005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ali_Marissa/pseuds/Ali_Marissa
Summary: Picking up from Chemical Romance, Chemical Reaction focuses from Age of Ultron on-wards.Brigitta had finally stepped away from her brother's shadow, and was happy where she and Bruce were in their relationship. Who'd have thought that these nerdy scientists would have ever clicked like they did?Not them, that's for sure.Now, Brigitta's got a secret that could throw the team into turmoil, though she doesn't seem to want to share it to anyone one but Nat.And now there's a another disaster, and that's not just Ultron...





	1. Sokovian Battle

“I got three guards on my four.” Brigitta said, glad that for once, her uniform didn’t stick out like a sore thumb.

“ _Take them out quietly._ ” Steve ordered over the comms.

“Aye, aye captain.” She muttered, pulling an arrow out of her quiver, before picking off the first guard. Before he had even hit the snow, he had been dead for seconds, and his comrades followed in quick succession. “Threats neutralised.” She said, “We can move up.” She added, setting another arrow on her bowstring in case she needed to stop another guard. “You’re up Hawkeye.” She added, getting a sigh from her brother.

“ _Copy that Albatross._ ” Clint replied, moving up the line, and shooting one of the three guards at his position, but not seeing the third guard until he had already called for help.

“Shit, Hawkeye!” Brigitta huffed, pulling one of her own arrows, and nailing the shot directly in the third guards back. “Fuck that little mouse, I’m an albatross.” Brigitta said softly, glad that Steve was calling in a Code Green.

“ _You’re insane._ ” Clint said, moving past that post, and further into the forest. His jacket blending in with the surroundings, or providing enough interference so that it was hard to pick exactly where he was at.

“I’m your sister, have some respect!” Brigitta snipped, as there was a roar from the direction of the Quinjet, and a flash of green through the forest, barrelling past her, and into the reinforcements that had arrived. “Go Big Guy.” She whispered softly, following her boyfriend’s alter ego into the forest, reverting to her knives for the close quarters fighting, though her bow was still attached to her person.

“ _Albatross, we got some trucks ahead._ ” Nat called, “ _Get in one._ ” She added, as Brigitta stabbed an approaching thug without even breaking her stride.

“Copy that.” Gitta replied, dashing over, and taking out other thugs along her way. “Cap, did we ever consider shutting the bike up?” She asked, skidding through the snow, before rolling past some goons, before pulling her bow, and sending out a split shock arrow.

“ _I don’t think we did._ ” Steve replied, as he sped past her.

“I’ll have a look when we get back.” She replied, “Stark, do we have numbers?”

“ _Um, no, but I think the guard you had to take down panicked._ ” He replied, his voice over the comms sounding like his suit’s voice system.

“Great.” Brigitta sighed, pulling herself into the truck Nat was driving, smiling at her friend as they drove through the mass of men that Strucker kept sending at them.

“Well, it could be worse.” Nat did say, looking over at Gitta, as they drove through the forest at a break neck speed, Clint in the rear, shooting at the other vehicles, and thugs. Brigitta had her emergency gun, taking out the thugs her brother missed.

“Barricade!” Brigitta yelled, as she gave the Hulk a smile, “There’s a barricade coming up!” She repeated, glad that Nat slowed a tad, though she had turned the truck on its side, Hulk was the one that pulled her out, setting her on his shoulders so that she was safer.

“Thanks, Big Guy.” She said, finding her feet on the irradiated, giant, green man, and started firing arrows from a better level. How she managed to hit each of her targets while Bruce was brawling with the other thugs, she didn’t know, but it was awesome anyway.

“Pretty Lady safe.” He said, as she jumped off, running after some other goons. It was getting too close for comfort, but maybe she’d be able to push some into tree trunks, if the other Avengers didn’t see her. Looking up, she saw Tony fly towards the castle, avoiding the canon blasts of the defence system.

“ _SHIT!_ ” He yelled, as the suit bounced off a force field surrounding the HYDRA base.

“ _Language!_ ” Steve replied, the roar from his motorbike cutting through the comms. “ _JARVIS, what’s the view from upstairs?_ ”

“ _The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield. Strucker's technology is well beyond any other HYDRA base we've taken._ ” The AI replied from his satellite that Tony had created after the incident with the Mandarin.

“ _Loki's sceptre must be here. Strucker couldn't mount this defence without it._ ” Thor said, easily moving within the flow of the battle, “ _At long last._ ”

“ _"At long last" is lasting a little long, boys._ ” Nat said, as there was a cracking noise over the comms, she’d broken the necks of the goons she had taken on.

“ _Yeah. I think we lost the element of surprise._ ” Clint added, finding safety from behind two of the thicker trees in the forest.

“We wouldn’t have if you’d spotted your targets properly.” Brigitta huffed, flinging herself over the top of three goons, before using a knife to stab one, a clean kill, before snapping the other two’s necks.

“ _I will drown you in a bubbler._ ” Clint muttered, picking off the bunker that was currently holding him down.

“The basins aren’t deep enough, I’ve tried.” Gitta replied, as she sliced another man’s throat.

“ _Wait a second. No one else is gonna deal with the fact that Cap just said "Language"?_ ” Tony asked, as he flew through the lower parts of the castle, trying to get access to the top.

“ _I know._ ” Cap said, as he finally used his bike to take out a truck, similar to the one Nat had been driving earlier. “ _Just slipped out._ ” He admitted, as they continued to fight their way closer to the castle.

Due to the ability to use more appropriate ranged weapons, Clint and Brigtta were assigned to take down the bunkers. They were causing the most problems, especially the canons that were retractable. Both Barton’s were keeping a score, JARVIS officially recording each one destroyed.

“ _I think you’d call that twenty._ ” Clint said, losing an arrow from his position, though there was no explosion.

“I’m heading to twenty-three Clint, keep up.” Brigitta replied, “I won’t hold it against you if you can’t hit anything, old man.”

“ _You just wait._ ” Clint muttered, preparing to send another arrow, though this time it never left his hand as he was barrelled into the ground. Standing to aim after the young guy, he didn’t realise the bunker decided to take their shot at him.

“ _Clint!_ ” Nat yelled, glad that she had stayed close to the older Barton in the battle, though worried about Brigitta’s safety. Until Cap was also taken out by the same man as Clint, though, he landed on his feet.

“ _We have an Enhanced in the field._ ” He said, semi-stunned. _We actually have two…_ Brigitta thought, pushing a man into the tree behind him, breaking his back. But she never spoke the words aloud. Her telekinesis wasn’t on her SHIELD file, and there was no way HYDRA would know about it either, though she didn’t want to imagine what they would do to her if they found out, and managed to capture her.

“ _Clint’s hit!_ ” Nat said, most likely rushing over to her friend, doing the best First Aid she could, considering the fire she was under from the bunker. “ _Somebody want to deal with that bunker?_ ” She asked, as the Hulk punched his way through it, before continuing on, “ _Thank you._ ” Widow said quietly, assessing Clint’s condition, as the battle went on.

“Tell my nerf herder of a brother, that he better not die when I’m not there.” Brigitta said, taking out the last of the bunkers in the area. “I can try and do a field job patching him up, but it’ll be weeks in recovery.” She offered.

“ _Clint's hit pretty bad, guys. We're gonna need evac._ ” Nat agreed, “ _I managed to stop the bleeding though._ ” She added, as Thor replied;

“ _I can get Barton to the jet. The sooner we’re gone, the better. You and Stark secure the sceptre._ ”  Thor said.

“ _Copy that._ ” Steve agreed, as Brigitta ran past them, stopping only briefly to stab two goons in the hearts. She had definitely become better during battles, though he was concerned about how she was holding up killing these men. Clint had told him not to worry, and that she had killed men personally before. Nat too had agreed, telling him that out of all of the Winter Soldier’s missions, Albatross was the only one to never have been completed. The idea had stunned him at first, even more so when Brigitta herself mentioned offhandedly that she had been thirteen when this had happened. Apparently, she was very good at leaving a paper trail.

“We’re locked down out here.” Nat said, after Thor had taken Clint back to the jet, her archer friend complaining the entire way.

“That I can confirm.” Brigitta added, smiling over at her friend.

“ _Then get to Banner. Time for a lullaby._ ” Steve said, hoping that Bruce hadn’t wandered too far from the forest.

“Easy.” Brigitta replied, passing her bow to Nat, before she opened up the bottom of her quiver, pulling out a tightly folded blanket, one that could be used for a range of reasons. “I’ll see you back at the jet.” She told her friend, handing her the quiver as well.

“See you then.” Nat replied, giving Brigitta a smile as the older woman started to walk towards the direction where they had last seen Bruce.

* * *

“Hey there, Big Guy.” Brigitta said gently, finding herself on the top of a bank high enough to make her eye level with the Hulk when she was standing. “Sun’s getting real low.” She added, getting his attention away from the broken pieces of tank that he had occupied himself with. At first it seemed that he didn’t want to come over to her, but the sweet smile on her face was enough to change his mind. Stretching out her left hand, palm facing the green man, she was pleased to see him follow her lead, though when he tried to touch her, she pulled her hand away slightly, before rotating it so that he could lay his hand in hers. “It’s time to go to sleep, Big Guy.” She said softly, running her hand up the back of his, before touching his forearm twice, running her finger tips down it and into his palm, and up over his fingers. He grunted slightly at the loss of contact, but it seemed that Bruce had taken back over fully. Turning, the Hulk moved away from her, though she didn’t actively watch where he was going, she subtly made note of where he had started to become Bruce-sized again. Looking away Brigitta picked up the blanket, and got it ready to throw around Bruce when he had finished shrinking back down.

The thump in the snow was enough to tell her that she was right to go in and wrap him up in the blanket.

“Itta?” Bruce managed to say, as she reached him, glad when she saw the green tint run down his jugular, and disappear into his body.

“Hey, there’s no green.” Gitta said, helping him sit up so that she could wrap the blanket around him. “You looked in control as well.” She added, passing him some socks.

“It’s freezing out here!” He mumbled, as he put the socks on, while Brigitta wrapped the woolly blanket around his shoulders, “How are you just wearing a short sleeve top?”

“I guess I don’t think about the cold too much.” She said, glad that he hadn’t noticed that her top was tighter than normal. “Guess it comes from living in sub-standard conditions. Now let’s get you back to the jet.” She said, a small smile passing across her face. “Stark got the sceptre.” She added, knowing that he would want to be filled in on how the mission had gone.

“Let’s go.” Bruce mumbled, as he let Brigitta support him through the forest, pointing out all of the potential hazards that could send him back to being the Hulk.

* * *

 

Once they were in the air, and well on the way back to America, Brigitta got out of her seat, ready to tell Bruce about the success of the lullaby. He wouldn’t have taken any notice of what she had said if she had told him just after the shift back.

“Hey, the lullaby worked better than ever.” She said, sitting in front of him.

“Just wasn’t expecting a Code Green.” He mumbled, setting his headphones down pulling the sleeves of his jumper down over his hands.

“You hadn't been there, there would've been double the casualties. My brother would've been a treasured memory, and less of a pain in the arse.” Brigitta said, trying to prove her point.

“You know, sometimes exactly what I want to hear isn't exactly what I want to hear.” Bruce replied, pausing the song he had been listening to.

“How long before you trust me, and yourself?” She asked, resting one of her hands on his knee.

“It’s not you I don’t trust.” He replied, setting his hand down on hers, rubbing his thumb across the back of it.

“Thor, report on the Hulk.” Nat called, looking up from the screen she had been typing the mission report on.

“The gates of Hel are filled with the screams of his victims. But not the screams of the dead, of course. No, no, wounded screams. Mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and gout.” Thor said, causing Bruce to groan, and try to attempt to hide behind his face. The dark look that Brigitta sent Thor and Nat was enough to tell them they should have been more discreet in how they described the battle.

“Great job guys.” Brigitta huffed, “Bobby, trust me, you didn’t cause any more damage than you needed to!” She added, trying to get Bruce into a better headspace than what he was already in.

“Hey, Banner, Dr. Cho is on her way in from Seoul. Is it okay if she sets up in your lab?” Tony called from the pilot’s seat

“Yeah, she knows her way around.” Bruce replied, pulling at his sleeves again.

“Thanks.” Tony replied.

“If she needs a power point, the one outside my lab works,” Brigitta called, “We went fucking around with the ones in Bruce’s lab, and now the majority of them don’t work!” She added.

“Will tell her that as well.” Tony said, as he set the jet to autopilot, walking over to Thor and Steve to talk about the sceptre.

“Hey, when we get back, go and treat yourself to a bath.” Brigitta said, knowing how stressed he was at the moment. “And throw the bubble bath in while you’re at it.” She added.

“You going to join?” He asked, watching as she pushed the sleeves of the jumper down slightly so that she could hold his hand.

“I’m going to be watching Clint, you know how much he hates getting fixed.” Brigitta said, “Anyway, I’m one of the only people that can go toe to toe with him and hold my own.”

“Good point.” Bruce replied.

“But I’ll make sure that there’s tea ready for you in the lab.” She said, “Is that a good enough trade?”

“Perfect.” He said, kissing her cheek.

“And I’ll get the pawpaw cream, your lips are cracking again.” Gitta added, rubbing his cheeks.

“You’re the boss.” Bruce said, holding her hands, as they once again flew into American air space.

* * *

 

“I’ll see you when you’re clean.” Brigitta said softly as they jet landed, before she followed Nat and Clint’s stretcher out and stuck closely to it as Cho and her team of doctors came rushing out to meet them, holding her brother’s hand as they pushed him into the lab.

“Did you put some weight on Kitty-hawk?” Clint asked, a confused but pained expression on his face, though that might have just been the morphine.

“Practically nothing.” Brigitta said, sharing a look with Nat over his head. Maybe her brother did have eyes of a Hawk after all.


	2. If only this was as easy a fix as patching Clint up

“Gah, why do you even drink that stuff?” Clint asked, looking up at his sister, who was using her lab cup, which proclaimed her as King of the Lab.

“Easily, it calms my nerves.” She replied, pushing him back down again as he tried to sit up. “And it gives me something to accidently spill on you if you annoy me.”

“That bubbler is looking great…” Clint muttered as Nat came back in.

“Banner’s on his way up, he asked if the tea was still warm.” She said, smiling as she saw the cup.

“There’s plenty of it. I got the mugs out.” Gitta replied, sticking her free hand into the pocket of her lab coat. “Reckon you can keep arsehole supreme down Dr. Cho?” Brigitta asked, looking over at the other side of the lab.

“I’m sure Mr Barton won’t be too much of a problem, now that we’ve matched his skin type.” Cho replied, looking over at the scientist.

“Don’t move, or I’ll kill you.” Brigitta said, glaring at her brother.

“Bitch.” Clint muttered, huffing as she ruffled his hair.

“I’ll be back soon.” She called over her shoulder as she left Bruce’s lab, watching for the extension cord running to the power point outside her lab as she made her way over to fill a mug of tea for Bruce.

“Itta, do you have the pawpaw cream in your lab?” Bruce called as he walked into the labs.

“It’s umm,” She said, setting her mug and the kettle down, patting her pockets of her lab coat, “In my lab coat, actually.” She added, pulling out the red tube, before throwing it towards Bruce.

“Though you might have it, seeing as it wasn’t on the bathroom sink.” He replied, catching it, while attempting to give her a smile.

“Must’ve picked it up earlier.” She said, passing him his mug, subtly pulling a face at the chrome surface of it. “And don’t try to smile.” She added, kissing his cheek.

“Thanks.” Bruce said, picking up his lab coat, and throwing it on over the top of his buttoned shirt, one that Brigitta had given him for his birthday. “How’s Clint doing?” He asked, also looking at Tony as he left the lab.

“Unfortunately he’s still Barton.” Tony said, speaking before Brigitta.

“That’s terrible.” Bruce replied, looking between his friends.

“He’s fine,” Tony said, heading over to the blender that had appeared in the lab, “He’s thirsty.” He added over his shoulder smiling when Bruce reached over to grab Brigitta’s hand. Usually, he was very closed off after a Code Green, sometimes refusing to sleep in the same room as Brigitta, this was a big step for him to realise that he and the Other Guy were two separate people. Something that he and the Pigeon had long since distinguished.

 

* * *

 

 

As she looked around Bruce’s lab, not really hearing how Cho was fixing her brother, though it was funny to comment every so often.

“I can still do a field patch-up, Clint!” She said with a smile on her face.

“No, you can’t stich to save your life!” Clint replied, as Tony returned with their drinks, setting them down on one of Bruce’s desks.

“Oh, he's flat-lining. Call it. Time?” He asked, passing out the drinks, while subtly checking his watch.

“No, no, no, I'm gonna live forever.” Clint whined, wincing as the machine regrew his skin, “I'm gonna be made of plastic.” He added, as Tony passed him his drink.

“Here’s your beverage.” Stark said quietly, casting an eye over to Banner, who was reapplying pawpaw cream to his lips, while Brigitta was looking over some numbers they had been running before the callout.

“You'll be made of you, Mr. Barton.” Cho reassured him, “Your own girlfriend won't be able to tell the difference.” She added as an afterthought. Brigitta subtly looked up at Nat as her brother replied too quickly.

“I don’t have a girlfriend. I only got a sister.”

“That I can’t fix.” Cho said, as both Brigitta and Nat were able to breathe normally again. “This is the next thing, Tony. Your clunky metal suits are gonna be left in the dust.”

“That is exactly the plan.” Tony said, causing Bruce to furrow his brow at the idea, “And, Helen, I expect to see you at the party on Saturday.”

“Unlike you, I don't have a lot of time for parties.” Helen said, trying to occupy herself with looking over the readings, “Will Thor be there?” She asked as an afterthought. Before anyone could reply, there was a loud snore, coming up from the table that Clint was on.

“And on that note, I’m going to go and get clean, and then maybe fall asleep.” Brigitta said, giving Bruce a peck on the cheek, before ruffling Clint’s hair as she exited the lab, heading for the lift down to the apartment. She’d been in her uniform for well over a day now, and there was blood on it, something that wasn’t going to be pleasant in the wash.

 

* * *

 

 

Kicking her boots off as soon as she set foot in the door, Gitta was glad that she had some time to herself, and more time to hide, or get rid of the pregnancy tests at the bottom of her sock draw. But that could wait until after she showered. And maybe had some food. Bruce wasn’t concerned yet, so she didn’t have to worry as much. 

Walking into the bathroom, still slightly foggy from Bruce’s bath, Brigitta stripped and prayed that there was still hot water in the pipes so that she wouldn’t have to be waiting for it to warm up again. It wouldn’t be too long before she started to show properly, if what she knew from Laura’s pregnancies held true. Then, if she hadn’t told the team by then, it would be hard to explain why she had to come off the active roster.  “You’re going to cause me lot’s trouble, little one.” She said softly, rubbing her lower stomach softly, as she stood under the water. “But I’ll love you anyway.” She added, reaching for the soap.

Gitta was lucky that she mostly wore baggy clothes, and could keep to herself. Stepping out of the shower and reaching for her towel, wrapping the fabric around her as she walked into the bedroom, drying quickly, before throwing one of her bedshirts on. It was easier for her to change quickly if they had yet another callout, although the chances were slim.

 

* * *

 

 

It wasn’t until much later, definitely after the sun had long since set, when she woke up, only to find that Bruce still hadn’t come to bed. He knew as well as she did, that after a Code Green, sleep was better than any form of caffeine, and yet, looking over at the clock on the bedside table, Gitta groaned, and pulled herself out of the bed, and headed out to the living room, ready to drag Bruce to bed.

“Bobby…” She groaned, stepping out into the main room, looking around, surprised to find that he wasn’t actually in the apartment, nor in either of the spare bedrooms. “JARV, where’s Bruce?” She asked, looking up at the ceiling.

“Dr. Banner is still working in the lab with Mr. Stark, they have shut my audio capabilities down as well.” The AI replied, as Brigitta huffed, pulling the throw rug up off the couch, and slipping her ugg boots on before she walked out the door, heading for the labs.

“Tell them that I expect them to be in bed before I get there.” She muttered, heading for the lift.

“I shall attempt to.” JARVIS replied.

“What are they even working on at this hour?” Gitta asked, “I must have been asleep for the better part of the night, and even that doesn’t explain it.”

“I believe that they were attempting to merge the ULTRON program with the brain-like program they found in the gem.” JARVIS replied, “Although, I would recommend that sir and Dr Banner both get some rest before the party on Saturday.” He added.

“Well, Jarv, who are we to stand in the way of progress?” Gitta replied, as the lift took her directly to the labs, where a tired Bruce and a caffeinated Tony were standing around some of the larger screens, trying to figure out how to integrate the two programs.

“How about we try this one?” Tony asked, pushing a block of data over onto Bruce’s screen.

“How about you both go to bed?” Gitta said, leaning against the railing of the divide between hers and Bruce’s labs.

“Gitta?” Bruce said, looking up as he was reaching for the mug of tea sitting nearby his hand, perched precariously on top of notes and textbooks, trying not to look guilty as he did so.

“Whadya doing up Pigeon?” Tony added, as the idea that they had had failed, the holographic test results pushing away from the panel they had been on.

“I’m dragging Bruce to bed, and I suggest you do the same before I have to call Happy in to do it for you.” She replied, causing both men to straighten at her threats. If she threatened, usually there was a follow through. “Unless you want to be doing exhausted science! again.” She added, pulling the blanket tighter around her.

“JARVIS snitched on us, didn’t he?” Tony said, looking up at the ceiling.

“Like owner, like AI.” Gitta replied, “C’mon.” She added, as Bruce quickly downed the last of his tea.

“Actually, I think Itta has a point.” He reasoned, “Darcy would kill us if she found out.”

“This is why we do responsible science!.” Gitta smiled, glad that Bruce had realised that she was watching them, otherwise they may have worked all the way to the party.

“Fine, I’ll pack up here, you two lovebirds head off.” Tony said, throwing a condom after Bruce. “Stay safe.” He added pointing at them, as both the assassin and the scientist groaned, before leaving back to their apartment.

“Thanks.” Bruce murmured, leaning his head on her shoulder. “How’d you know that I’d be staying up?” He asked, wrapping his arms around her middle.

“Well, you usually don’t get in bed after an unexpected Code Green, so when I woke up, and you weren’t there, I checked the couch and then the spare bedrooms.” She explained, as the lift quickly dropped levels.

“And you assumed that I was in the lab?” He asked, kissing her shoulder.

“I have found you sleeping on the cot in your lab before, remember. It was a totally justifiable assumption.” Gitta smiled, shivering under his touch.

“JARVIS told you, didn’t he?” Bruce asked, following Tony’s earlier line of questioning.

“He did when I asked where you were.” She replied, as the lift doors opened, “Now, are you actually going to sleep in the bed, or be up until dawn?” She added, as they walked back to their door.

“I might just be able to get to sleep.” Bruce said wearily, “I think the tea started wearing off about an hour ago.”

“Bruce, it’s three am.” Brigitta sighed, “I know I’m going back to sleep.” She added.

“Well, you already warmed the bed some, so I guess I’m sleeping there.” He said, watching as Brigitta pushed open the door, shutting it behind him after he entered.

“Good idea.” Brigitta smiled, turning off the lamp in the living room, before setting the now refolded blanket on one of the couch arms, “You go get changed, and I’ll climb into bed.” She said, her lips softly brushing his as she passed.

“I like the sound of that.” He smiled, reaching under his pillow to grab his pyjamas, “I’ll be back soon.” He added, noticing that Gitta was already under the covers, “May I join?” He asked, seeing how she was already comfortable in there.

“Don’t ask, you live here too, get in.” Gitta said, turning her head so that she could see him. “Now go and get changed.”

 

* * *

 

 

For the next two days Gitta joined her fellow scientists in the lab, though she called it quits early on the last day, pretending to leave so that she and Nat could start getting ready for the party, which they were, but later. Really, Gitta needed to hurl her guts up, and had somehow managed to keep it down.

“So, I guess I don’t get to go back to the apartment for a few hours?” Bruce asked, as Gitta threw her lab coat over the back table in the workshop part of the lab.

“Yeah, and knock before you come in too, just so that we have some time to cover up if we need to.” Gitta replied, giving him a warm smile, “And don’t leave getting ready until the last minute, either, apparently, it’s considered rude.” She added, giving him a peck on the cheek as she waved bye to Tony, the engineer having DUM-E return her gesture.

“Will do.” Tony called, standing up for a moment before he continued working from the floor.

“Right, I’ll see you later.” She said, leaving the lab, trying her best not to run back to the elevator, praying that she could keep herself from vomiting until she got to the bathroom in her apartment. As soon as she got in the lift, her hands were against her mouth, hoping to catch anything that managed to escape. As soon as JARVIS stopped the lift, Gitta was out the doors, racing to the apartment, and praying that she made it in time.

Racing into the master bedroom, Brigitta barely made it to the toilet before she threw up, groaning as she sank to the floor, feeling as crap as she probably looked. Glad that she had pulled her hair up to work in the lab that morning, so that her hair didn’t get in the way of her experiments, or in her face as she read through Tony and Bruce’s plans and ideas on how to merge their program with the brain in Loki’s sceptre.

Finally stopping bringing her food back up, and managing to clean herself up, Gitta headed back into the Master Bedroom, pausing briefly to see what she had to wear in her part of the wardrobe, to wait until Nat arrived.

Walking over to the sink, Gitta sighed as she pulled her ponytail out, setting the band down on the bench, along with the other five she had worn for the previous week. Grabbing one of the glasses, Brigitta had only just filled it when Nat knocked on the door.

“C’mon in Nat.” Gitta called, taking a sip of her water, hoping to rehydrate herself as quickly as possible.

“You look like shit.” Nat said bluntly, raising an eyebrow at her pale face and dark under eyes. “But I guess it’s only going to get worse, right?”

“Don’t I know it.” Gitta said, setting the glass down on the sink, and running her hands over her face. “I can’t look that bad, can I?” She asked, getting a laugh out of her friend.

“You look like you went ten rounds with Thor.” Nat replied, “Go and sit for a bit, it’ll do you some good to get off your feet for a bit.”

“When did you go domestic?” Gitta asked, slowly heading over to the couch.

“When my friend called me and said she was pregnant.” Nat replied, “And also the other Barton rabble.” She added with a smile.

“Point taken.” Gitta nodded, smiling slightly. “Think I’d be able to get out of the party tonight?”

“No, because that’ll mean having to fabricate a lie about being sick.” Nat said, sitting down in the armchair next to the couch, tucking her legs up under her body as she went. “And then Bruce would skip to come down and test you for everything under the sun, and find out.” She added.

“Point.” Gitta sighed, picking up the book she had been reading last night, waiting for Bruce to come back from the lab.

“Which reminds me, where did you hide the tests?” Nat asked, “I can get rid of them now.”

“Up the back of my sock drawer, and under all of the socks.” Gitta said, “Only place where Bruce wouldn’t go hunting, even if the world was ending.” She justified.

“He’s not a spy like we are.” Nat called from the bedroom, holding the three offending sticks in her hand. “I’ll take your bathroom bag out while I’m at it.” She added, dumping the sticks in there, before pulling the lining out, smiling as she saw another underneath. “Neat trick.” Nat muttered, as she tied the top of the bag. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. I found a good dumpster to throw these in.” She said, “Enjoy your reading.”

“I will.” Gitta smiled, as the assassin disappeared out the door. Now she could read _American Gods_ in some semblance of peace. At least until Nat returned with her makeup bag, and a look on her face that meant Gitta would look like a different person by the time she was done with her.

 

* * *

 

 

“Are you sure the navy blue looks good?” Gitta asked Nat, looking at her friend, who was pulling on a white shrug cardigan to match her black dress.

“The navy looks amazing, not to mention it’s fairly loose too. No one’s going to notice.” Nat replied, turning to face her friend. “And it matches your eyes.”

“My eyes are sky blue, Nat.” Gitta replied, shaking her head, “But it does work with my hair.” She replied.

“Either way,” Nat said, pulling out a tube of lipstick, “You look amazing.” She finished, as she pursed her lips and applied the lacquer.

“Don’t say it-” Gitta muttered, knowing what would come out of the Russian’s mouth next.

“- You might say that you’re glowing.” Nat laughed, just as there was a knock at the door of the apartment. “Who’s that?” She asked, as Gitta left the bathroom.

“Bruce,” She called back, “I told him to knock in case we were still getting changed.” She added, opening the door. “You can come in.” Gitta said, smiling at him.

“Holy Shit!” Bruce exclaimed, his focus being pulled to the beauty standing before him in a navy dress. “You look amazing Itta!” He added.

“Why thank you, Dr Banner.” Gitta smiled. “We’re not finished yet, but you can get your stuff and change in one of the spare rooms.”

“And why is that?” Bruce asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Because I’ve claimed the Master bedroom for myself!” Nat called, stepping out of the bedroom door.

“We kinda spread our crap out.” Gitta shrugged, “We no longer have a vanity.”

“Right, point taken.” Bruce said, “Can I grab a suit though?” He asked, looking at Brigitta.

“The wardrobe’s fine, if that’s what you asking.” Nat said, elegantly leaning against island in the kitchen.

“Don’t mark the paint Widow!” Bruce said, a tone of seriousness creeping into his voice as he pointed at her, “There will be hell to pay if you do.” He added, heading into the bedroom.

“When did he start ordering people around?” Nat asked, straightening up.

“When he had to paint the island twice because he used the ceiling paint the first time.” Brigitta replied, shrugging her shoulders.

“It kinda works, doesn’t it?” Nat said, a wicked smile appearing on her face.

“Oh, shut it.” Gitta huffed, flicking the loose parts of her fringe out of her eyes, as she and Nat picked up the shoes they had pulled out earlier, and finished getting ready.

“You know it does!” Nat ribbed, hearing the shower start.

“Natalia!” Gitta smiled, screwing her eyes shut, “Get your mind out of the gutter!”

“It’s only where it belongs!” Nat replied, returning the smile.

“We will discuss this later.” Brigitta finished, before she stood, and stepped into her bedroom, telling Bruce that they were going to head up and make sure that everything was going as it should.


	3. Why we can't have a nice night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to CeruleanPenseur and TrickisTrash for commenting on the first two parts of this story, and anyone who has Kudos'ed it as well!  
> I know I haven't updated in a while, but I'm back with another chapter.   
> You'll be surprised to see what I have in store for these two scientists. :)  
> No promises that it'll be a happily ever after.

“Brigitta,” Steve called, just as the first guests were showing up. Tony was mingling, Thor was in his element. Her brother and Nat were talking with Rhodey. And Bruce had yet to show up, probably trying to hide. “Come and meet Sam!” He added, waving her over. She had been standing near the windows, still unable to get used to the view of New York, at night, from this height.

“Sure.” Gitta smiled, nimbly making her way down the stairs, and over to where the super soldier was, his friend next to him, eyes popping as she smiled.

“Sam Wilson, ma’am.” He said, looking surprised at who he was speaking to. Steve had told him that he was going to introduce him to Albatross, not this stunning woman.

“Dr Brigitta Barton.” Brigitta replied, holding her hand out, “Nice to meet you.” She added as he shook her hand.

“Sam’s the guy that I met in DC.” Steve explained, “Said that he’d hate me if I didn’t introduce him to Albatross.” He added with a smile.

“Well, I hope I don’t have to kill anyone this evening.” Gitta said, sending a mildly peeved look at Steve, causing him to laugh, as Steve wandered away to some of the veterans.

“No way, you can’t be Albatross.” Sam said quietly, noting the other people gathering in the large room.

“I didn’t think that makeup hides my identity that well.” Gitta smiled, laughing at the idea.

“I said the same thing about my googles.” Sam said, “But you’re Albatross, seriously?”

“My older brother is Hawkeye,” Brigitta replied, not adding that her other brother was also Trickshot, “You could say that my family has something going with the bird theme.”

“Well, meet the new bird on the block.” Sam said, “Falcon.”

“You had the wings, right?” She asked, now looking interested, “Bring them by sometime, Steve was telling me that they took a bit of a beating against the Winter Soldier.” She added.

“You’d trick them out for me?” Sam smiled, looking surprised.

“I’d make them able to survive another Winter Soldier attack.” Gitta promised, just as Sam realised exactly how she’d be able to know that.

“Steve did say that when the Winter Soldier was sent after you, that you lived.” He said, “How?”

“Simple.” Brigitta started, taking a sip of her water. “Thirteen-year-old me decided to go underground for a few months, learn a few different breathing techniques, and then left a massive paper and video trail.” She replied, shrugging her shoulders.

“And is that how you managed to survive?” He asked, subconsciously rubbing his shoulder that had almost been dislocated from the Soldier stopping his wings mid-flight.

“I kept telling myself, that I’ve been through worse,” Brigitta said, “And that I had better training than a mindless drone.” She added. “I may have also exploded a boiler next to him.” She finished, a small smile on her face.

“Lemme guess, First Contact style?” Sam asked, getting a smile from the world renown assassin.

“You bet.” Brigitta said, “But I wouldn’t recommend anyone else trying it.”

“Unless you’re Steve Rogers.” Sam said, “I’m gonna get a beer, you want anything?” He asked.

“I’m all set.” Gitta replied, raising her water slightly, “But I gotta go and take care of a human disaster waiting to happen.” She added, spotting Bruce stepping out of the elevator, and looking like the dork he was. Tony had managed to intercept him, and drag him off to talk with some other colleagues.

“What’s happening Blackhawk?” Clint asked, giving her a smile, as she sat down on one of the couches.

“Not much.” Gitta replied, “I just met Sam though, and Nat’s over there talking with Rhodey.” She added, giving her brother a smile.

“I saw that.” Clint replied, sitting opposite her. “Think she’s flirting with him?” Clint asked, returning the smile, though it quickly changed into a snort of laughter.

“It’s Nat!” Gitta laughed, “She communicates through flirting!”

“Shit.” Clint smiled, “Why do we always forget that?” He asked, looking over at his sister.

“We’re getting old, that’s why.” Gitta replied, letting some of her walls down, though she was still ready to react.

“I’m going to see if Thor’s handing out whatever’s in that small bottle.” Clint said, “Want some too?” He asked.

“Nah, I’m not going to drink tonight.” She replied, “For reasons.” She added, wriggling her fingers holding her glass of water.

“Don’t blame you.” Clint said, standing. “But lemme know if you are going to drink.” He added, heading over to the bar.

“There you are.” Came Bruce’s voice, causing Brigitta to turn around.

“You look as awkward as ever.” Gitta commented, giving him a smile, “Nice suit, by the way.” She added.

“You look stunning.” Bruce added, taking in the dress, now that it was paired with her heels and jewellery, he could hardly take his eyes off her. “Not that you don’t always look stunning-” He started, praying that he hadn’t offended her.

“Why thank you, Dr Banner.” Gitta smiled, as she stood, making sure to tuck her stomach in slightly. “Now, who did Tony insist you meet?” She asked, as he wrapped an arm around her waist, feeling a bit more comfortable now that he was with her.

“I honestly think it was someone from the company that helps in development.” Bruce replied, as they walked over to one of the overhanging balconies, “I couldn’t focus.” He admitted after seeing her pull a face at his poor memory. “I was too busy thinking how good you looked in that dress.”

“Nice save there, Bobby.” Gitta smiled, leaning back against the railing, smiling at him. “Not that I honestly don’t blame you, I didn’t know how much the damn dress showed off.” She added.

“I’d give you my jacket so that everyone else couldn’t see it.” He replied, pushing his glasses up his nose slightly, giving her a wicked smile.

“I’ve really done a number on you, haven’t I Bobby?” Brigitta asked, wondering when he actually started to be this assertive.

“Not really,” Bruce replied, shrugging, “I think it was more that you gave me choices of my own, and started treating me like a human.” He added, smiling at her.

“That count’s as me doing a number on your personality.” Gitta said, looking over the top of her glass of water.

“No, not really.” Bruce reinforced. “I was always like this. You just brought me out of my shell.” He added, gently resting his hand on hers.

“I’m glad.” Gitta replied, setting her glass down, and smiling. “Is this what it feels like to be normal?” She asked, looking over at him.

“In a way, I guess.” Bruce said, watching all the different activities happening below them. “Who were you talking to earlier with Steve?” He added.

“Guy called Sam.” Brigitta started, “He also fought and survived the Winter Soldier.” She explained, “I told him to send over his wings sometime and I’d trick them out for him.” Gitta added. “Seemed like a nice guy.”

“I bet.” Bruce muttered, looking down at his hands.

“Who I have absolutely no interest in, not to mention I am quite happy with us.” She added, watching as some of the veterans were playing a drinking game with Steve. “So don’t worry.” She finished, “Promise you won’t Hulk-out until I get back?” Gitta asked, feeling slightly queasy.

“I think I might actually get a drink now that everything seems to have died down a bit.” Bruce replied, gently kissing the side of her head. “I’ll see you when you get back.” He added.

“Love you too, Bobby.” Gitta smiled, picking up on the meaning behind his words. She could head back to their apartment for a few minutes to settle her stomach, and maybe have a few seconds to breathe.

 

* * *

 

 

By the time she felt human again, the party had all but finished, many of the guests had left, and the few that remained seemed to be getting ready to leave or in the process.

“What’d I miss?” Gitta asked Nat as she walked over to the bar, picking out a new glass and filling it with water, skipping on the ice.

“I subtly threatened your boyfriend, who Steve thought I was flirting with until he walked over for a beer.” Nat smiled.

“You didn’t.” Gitta sighed, looking exhausted. “That would’ve pushed him right back into his shell that I just got him out of.”

“It wasn’t anything too horrible.” Nat laughed, pulling a beer out, passing it to Gitta to open. “Similar to what Clint told him.” She added, waiting for her drink to be opened. For some reason, Gitta had the inane ability to open beer bottles like this one, something that was definitely handy at a party like this, when all of the bottle openers had gone missing.

“Well, great.” Gitta muttered, resting the lip of the bottle against the sharp edge of the marble bar, levering the lid off without damaging the bottle or benchtop. “Now I’ll have to explain the social idea of women being pack animals, who threaten any men that could break a pack member’s heart.” She added. “God help me.” She muttered, holding the glass of water to her forehead.

“Everything alright?” Nat asked, turning her back to the party, so that no one could see what they were discussing.

“Just a little queasy earlier, I went and had a tums and a painkiller.” Gitta replied, just as Sam, the last person remaining waved goodbye to the room, and headed for the lift.

“If you ladies are finished your gossip session, we’re playing a game!” Maria yelled as she sat down on the couches around a small coffee table in the main level of the common area. Thor, who hadn’t been there before, had returned with Mjölnir, setting it down on the table.

“Coming!” Gitta called, picking up a few more beers before heading over. Setting them down round the table, before taking a seat next to Bruce, who was pulling off his tie, glasses in his pocket. “Hey Handsome.” She muttered, as he turned to place a kiss on her forehead.

“Hey yourself Gorgeous.” Bruce replied, wrapping an arm around the back of the couch.

“You’ve been drinking, haven’t you?” Gitta muttered into his ear, burying her face in his neck.

“Two drinks, I was counting.” Bruce replied into her hair, just as Clint returned, having found drumsticks from somewhere.

“Are we playing try and lift the hammer?” Rhodey asked, looking around at the regulars who were talking among themselves.

“It’s there, so probably.” Hill replied, picking up on of the beers, passing it to Brigitta to open.

“Those are twists, Maria.” Gitta sighed, easily twisting the cap off. “The one’s in front of Nat are the ones you need to worry about.” She replied, passing the beer back, before leaning back on the couch.

“But it's a trick.” Clint exclaimed, twisting the sticks around in his hands as he sat on the floor.

“No, no, it's much more than that.” Thor insisted, looking at his schooner of beer as he poured whatever was in the small flask into it, before passing it to Steve.

“‘Whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power.’” Clint retorted, using the deepest and most serious voice he could muster, usually the one he used for narration when he was reading to the kids, “Whatever, man! It's a trick.” He concluded, looking up at Brigitta for agreement. They had seen plenty of stuff like this in the circus.

“Please, be my guest.” Thor laughed, sweeping his hand at the hammer.

“Wha- really?” Clint replied, passing his sister the drumsticks as he stood up.

“Yeah.” Was Thor’s simple reply as Steve smiled into his drink, possibly feeling tipsy for the first time since waking up.

“This is gonna be beautiful.” Rhodey muttered, before a dark glare from Brigitta shut him up.

“Clint, you've had a tough week. We won't hold it against you if you can't get it up.” Tony added, before the glare turned to him.

“I can go and get you some Viagra old man.” Gitta smiled, sipping at her water. Clint’s scoff was enough to let her know that he had heard what she had said.

“You know I've seen this before, right?” Clint said, pointing at the hammer, before grabbing it near the stone. The grunt of exertion was enough to let anyone know that he wasn’t moving that thing anytime soon. “I still don't know how you do it!” He added, laughing as he tried again.

“Smell the silent judgment?” Tony asked.

“Careful Stark, he’s likely to throw his shoulder and back out again.” Gitta replied, pointing one of the drumsticks at him.

“Please, Stark, by all means.” Clint challenged, walking back to his spot on the floor, smiling slightly when he saw the cushion Brigitta had thrown there for him.

“Okay.” Tony smirked, unbuttoning his suit as he went, “Never one to shrink from an honest challenge.”

“Get after it.” Clint pushed, picking up his beer.

“It's physics.” Tony insisted, walking around the table to the hammer, sliding his hand through the leather at the base of the handle.

“Physics.” Bruce agreed, though a look at Gitta told him that there was far more behind it. She was a perfect example of not adhering to science.

“Right, so, if I lift it, I then rule Asgard?” Tony asked, looking at Thor, who seemed to be enjoying this far too much.

“Yes, of course.” The Asgardian assured, though the smile on his face said that Tony was going to fail.

“I will be reinstituting prima nocta.” Tony decreed, looking over at Bruce and Brigitta.

“Not even in your dreams, Malibu.” Gitta said, leaning into Bruce, “This one’s mine.”

“Fine, fine.” Tony muttered, as he started his attempt at lifting it up. After a few seconds, he slipped his hand from the leather, before saying, “I'll be right back.”

Even with the gauntlet of the Mark 43 armour, Tony couldn’t get the hammer even a millimetre off the table. “Rhodes, you’re on my team!” He exclaimed, pointing at his long-time friend, though even with the War Machine gauntlet they couldn’t move it.

“Are you even pulling?” Rhodey asked, straining at the task.

“Are you on my team?” Tony replied, getting more annoyed that Gitta was trying to stifle her laughter at the scene.

“Just represent. Pull.” Rhodey instructed, engaging the jet stabilisers in his gauntlet.

“All right, let's go.” Tony replied, pulling with his own stabilisers. “Banner, your turn.” Tony said, as he and Rhodey finally gave up.

“Don’t Hulk out.” Gitta said quietly as Bruce stood up, and passed her his drink.

“No promises.” He replied, giving her a quick wink before he too walked over to the hammer. As soon as he stood up on the table, attempting to pull the hammer up with more leverage, Gitta smiled, as he pretended to Hulk out. “No?” He asked, looking around at the group. Clint’s unimpressed face was enough to tell him that he didn’t think that was funny. Though, Gitta’s small smile behind her drink was the forerunner for her breaking out in laughter.

“Go ahead, Steve. No pressure.” Tony said, as Roger’s stood up to the plate. If anyone was to lift Mjölnir, it had to be him.

“Come on, Cap.” Clint almost begged, drumming his knees with the drumsticks.

“As ingenious as I thought that was, maybe not for them.” Gitta whispered to Bruce as he sat back down, taking his beer back from her.

“It got you laughing, mission accomplished.” Bruce replied, wrapping his arm around her again, watching if Steve could lift the hammer.

There was a small squeak that made Thor’s face drop when it moved.

“Nothing.” Steve said, giving up, though he held first place on making the hammer move.

“And, Widow, Albatross?” Bruce asked, as the team turned to their female members.

“No, no. That's not a question I need answered.” Nat smiled, taking a sip of her beer.

“No way am I game then.” Gitta added, “Albatross has volumes of reasons why she isn’t worthy.” She concluded, as the rest of the team looked at her. “What can I say, I have more kills, and have been an assassin longer.” She justified, getting a nod from Clint.

“I hear ya sis.” He said, just as Tony summed up the experience.

“All deference to the Man Who Wouldn't Be King, but it's rigged.” He said, standing next to Rhodey, as Clint went to throw the older bottles in the bin.

“You bet your ass.” He confirmed, heading over to the bar.

“Steve, he said a bad language word.” Maria smiled, using her beer to point at the offending assassin, causing the other two present to chuckle. If anything, Nat and Gitta had the worst mouths on them.

“Did you tell everyone about that?” Steve replied, looking like he was done with this shit as soon as it had happened.

“The handle's imprinted, right?” Tony concluded, “Like a security code. ‘Whosoever is carrying Thor's fingerprints,’ is, I think, the literal translation.” He hypothesised, holding his beer close to his chest. He had lost some of his manliness trying to move the hammer.

“Yes. It's a very, very interesting theory.” Thor agreed, standing up and walking over to the hammer. “I have a simpler one.” He continued, picking up the hammer, flipping it for show, causing groans to sound around the room. “You're all not worthy.”

“Oh, Come on!” Hill scoffed, being the most vocal of those gathered. The few moments of disagreement with Thor’s statement were cut short when an ear-splitting tone cut through the speakers in the room. Gitta could see Clint subtly flick is hearing aids off, before he stood up, checking with the of the team where the sound had come from.

“Worthy.” Sneered an electronic voice, something that Gitta hadn’t heard before. “No. How could you be worthy?” It continued, as an Iron Legion bot covered in wires made its way towards the group. “You're all killers.” ‘He’ added. Nat had noticed that Gitta was silently mouthing the words back, her head turned towards her older brother so that he could listen too.

“Stark.” Cap said, not taking his eyes off the bot, as Tony pulled his phone out, trying to get JARVIS to help him out with this malfunction.

“Jarvis.” Tony muttered, poking the touchscreen, hoping that his AI would answer him.

“I'm sorry, I was asleep. Or I was a-dream.” The suit continued.

“Reboot Legionnaire OS. We got a buggy suit.” Tony kept muttering, trying different ways of getting his AI out of hibernate.

“There was this terrible noise. And I was tangled in...” The suit continued, “In... Strings.” He concluded, before going on, “I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy.”

“You killed someone?” Steve asked, his brows furrowing in concern. Gitta saw Clint tap his hearing aids twice, having turned them back on, though they were now on the battle setting, freeing him of the static that usually accompanied a fight.

“Wouldn't have been my first call. But, down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices.” The suit explained, causing worry to increase around the room.

“Who sent you?” Thor asked, taking a defensive stance.

“‘ _I see a suit of armour around the world._ ’” It replayed, the voice distinctively Tony’s.

“Ultron.” Bruce exclaimed, looking shocked at what he was seeing. How could Ultron be working when all their tests had failed. Gitta hadn’t even finished writing the code for the moral and ethical responses.

“Fuck…” Gitta muttered softly, looking at the bot in new eyes. “This is not in your programming.” She added. “You’re supposed to be a program, not a physical form.”

“In the flesh. Or, no, not yet. Not this chrysalis.” Ultron replied, looking over at her. “But I'm ready. I'm on mission.” He finished. The soft click from next to her told her that Hill had the safety off, and ready to fire at this thing.

“What mission?” Nat asked, watching as Gitta subtly grabbed Bruce’s hand. The man had enough sense to not react, maybe a by-product of having dated Gitta for so long.

“Peace in our time.” Ultron replied, just as two more bots burst through the wall, heading straight for the Avengers.  Gitta managed to pull Bruce down, Hill fallowing suit as Steve kicked the table up, using it as a shield to delay the bot after him for a precious second.

“Follow me.” Gitta hissed, pulling Bruce behind her. He wouldn’t be useful right now, not to mention that all Brigitta had in the way of weapons were a few of her smaller knives. Though there were plenty more in the draws at the bar. They were almost there before one of the bots noticed them, causing Gitta to pull herself over the bar, landing safely before grabbing Bruce’s hand, pulling him across as well, though he landed on top of her. Face between her breasts.

“Now’s not the time honey.” Gitta smiled, pecking his lips slightly, before he pushed up a bit.

“Sorry.” He muttered, giving her a jittery smile in return as she reached back to the lowest drawer, pulling out one of her better knives, passing it to him, before pulling another out.

“Don't turn green.” She added, spying a spare gun hidden under the counter. “NAT!” She called, before there was a grunt of response from over under some of the ornamental architecture. “ **Pistolet**!” She shouted, as Bruce finally got off of her, before there were two loud stamps on the floor, letting Gitta know that she needed arming. “Inbound!” She added, sliding the weapon across the floor, knowing that it would reach its target.

“I won't.” Bruce managed to reply, somewhere in the chaos, before Gitta took into account their position.

“Come on!” She said, spotting one of the Bulkheads that had been built into the area. “Over there.” Gitta said, pointing over her shoulder, noting that Bruce was getting ready to run next to her.

“Let’s go.” Bruce said, watching as his girlfriend quite quickly reacted to his agreement. Her knife was big enough to slice through the bot’s wiring, causing it to drop to the ground.

“I am so glad that I built those with you.” She muttered, as they got to their safe spot. “I’m going to do something incredibly stupid.” Gitta added, spying Hill pushing one back towards them.

“You’re not going to-” Bruce started, as Nat ran up the stairs and joined them.

“It’s less then four feet.” Nat muttered, using the corner as a cover, watching as Gitta jumped from the upper level, onto the bot, her knife quickly finding its way into the smaller crevices, causing the bot to start to malfunction and eventually stop working.

“Well that was fun.” Gitta smiled at Hill, before seeing another creep up behind them. “You got ammo?” She asked, looking concerned. Her knife was wedged between the plating on the bot, and there was no time to pull it back out.

“Out.” Hill replied, seeing the look on Gitta’s face.

“Right.” She muttered, breathing deeply as she walked towards the bot, raising her hands slowly, imagining her grip in two different places on the body, namely the head and shoulders. Feeling that she had actually gripped there, Gitta took a deep breath, and began pulling the head away from the rest of the body until the wiring snapped, rendering the bot inert.

“That’s not on your file.” Hill said, looking stunned.

“Fury knows though.” Gitta replied, as Thor took down the last bot.

“That was dramatic.” The main Ultron bit started, pacing where he had remained the entire time, “I'm sorry, I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to... evolve? With these? These puppets. There's only one path to peace. The Avengers' extinction.” He finished, as Thor threw his hammer at him, crushing the helmet of the bot.

“I think we need to have a meeting.” Steve said, staring Gitta down. “Thor, I saw one get away with the sceptre, can you go and track it.”

“Aye.” Thor said, leaving the room, though his eyes held the highest distrust for Gitta as he passed.

“Backhawk!” Clint exclaimed, running over to his sister, pulling her into a hug. It didn’t matter what the rest of the team was currently thinking of her, but right now, what she needed was someone who wasn’t scared of her or what she could do. “Just breathe.” He muttered, rubbing circles into her back, watching as Bruce came down the stairs, “I’m not going to let them take you, ok? They’re not going to take you anywhere!” He repeated, as Bruce made his way over.

“She told me.” Bruce muttered quietly, seeing his girlfriend’s shoulder’s shake a she cried.

“Go get her comfortable.” Clint said, rubbing her back a bit more, “She deserves that right at least.” He added loudly, looking over to the other members of the team.

“Itta.” Bruce muttered, quickly pulling his jacket off and passing it to her, knowing that she would be wanting something that would cover her hands. “Let’s go get you changed, and comfortable.”

“Gloves and tea?” Gitta replied, as they walked over the broken glass to the lift.

“And as many of my jumpers as you want to wear.” Bruce added, opening the lift and ushering her in. “Clint and I won’t let anything happen to you, ok?”

“Thanks…” Gitta replied as the lift started its descent.

“Believe it or not, I understand exactly how you feel.” Bruce said, wrapping her in his arms, resting his chin gently on the top of her head, “And I know it sucks more than you thought, but we are not going to let anything happen to you.” He added, feeling tears come to his eyes.

“I love you Bruce.” She managed to say into his chest as the lift stopped.

“I love you more than you can ever imagine, Itta.” Bruce replied, reaching down to pick her up behind her knees, carrying her bridal style back to their apartment. “More than I love myself.” He added quietly, hearing the Other Guy rumble in the back of his mind.

“I love the both of you.” Gitta said softly, as they walked through their front door. “I’ll be back soon.” She added, wiping the tears from her face with the back of her hand.

“I’ll have the tea ready.” Bruce replied, a small smile appearing across his face as she handed him his suit jacket back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pistolet is Russian for gun, or the one that I found for it, if it isn't, please let me know the correct word to that I can change it. :)


	4. Am I still an Avenger?

When Gitta was finally feeling more like herself, and had changed out of her dress, opting to just have her pyjama pants and her Columbia shirt on, with one of Bruce’s maroon jumper’s over the top, ugg boots on with hair out and makeup off, Bruce finally agreed to go back to the rest of the Avengers, though not before she had one cup of tea and another to take with her up to the lab.

“I don’t think that they’d turn you over to the authorities, considering what you’ve done for the country.” Bruce said, as he picked up the throw rug from off the couch, wrapping it around her as they walked towards the lift.

“Then why do I feel like a dead man walking?” She asked, pulling the blanket tight around her, as they stepped into the lift.

“Because you’ve come to associate telling people what you can do with pain and distrust.” Bruce reasoned, “It was the same with me.” He added.

“Thanks Bobby.” Gitta smiled, as the lift opened its doors to the lab level, “Time to face the Spanish inquisition…” She muttered, walking into the now destroyed lab. “This place looks like a bomb hit it.”

“Clint literally said the same thing.” Nat replied, as she stood near where the sceptre was being held. “Stop.” She added, glaring at her friend.

“We’ll discuss what we saw when Thor returns.” Steve said, looking like he never wanted to be iced, “As a team.”

“Why wait?” Tony snarked, looking furious at what had happened, “She’s an Enhanced, she didn’t tell us and now we know that she could snap our necks!” He snarled.

“Come closer and see what my hands can do, arsehole!” Gitta challenged. She was back in control, and wasn’t afraid of them right now. “If I hadn’t done what I did, Hill and I would both be dead, and Bobby here would be on a rampage.” She added, “Do you lot know who’s the one who calms him down?” She asked, looking around the room, “ME! So have some respect Stark.” She finished, standing tall. The majority of her cards were on the table now, and she did not regret doing what she did.

“The point remains, Barton, you should have told us!” Steve pushed, crossing his arms as he walked over to Brigitta.

“And what then?” Gitta asked, “Be pushed into a lab where I’m the rat? Shove it up your arse Rogers.” She scoffed, standing her ground. “I’d tread very carefully if I was you, not only do I have a pissed off older brother, but a boyfriend that has control over his alter ego, and I could snap your neck and not think twice.” She said.

“You were experimented on?” Rhodey asked, picking up on what she said.

“No, but I will be if this gets out.” Gitta replied, holding onto her tea, “I was born this way, not like those kids from Sokovia.” She explained, “And trust me, I have no intention on ever using it unless I’m comfortable with it.” She continued, “Unfortunately, I had to use it tonight.”

“All our work is gone.” Bruce said, coming back from trying to start his computer up again. “Ultron cleared out. He used the Internet as an escape hatch.” He finished

“I’ll be back.” Gitta muttered, walking away from Steve and into her own lab, walking over to where she had hidden her files. “MY FLOPPY DISKS SURVIVED!” She exclaimed, coming back down with her box. “Told you not to judge them.” She added, cradling her work, which was stored on a few colourful, ancient pieces of tech in her arms.

“Ultron.” Steve muttered, looking disappointed with the scientists.

“He's been in everything.” Nat added, looking over the screen she had managed to reboot, “Files, surveillance. Probably knows more about us than we know about each other.” She added, causing a look of concern to float between Clint and Gitta.

“He's in your files, he's in the Internet.” Rhodey said, walking over to where Hill was pulling glass shards out of her feet, “What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?” He asked, sitting down next to the agent who saw the problem with Ultron being in the net was going to cause them in the long run.

“Nuclear codes.” Hill said, looking up.

“Nuclear codes.” Rhodey agreed, glad that someone else was able to see what was happening from a military point of view. “Look, we need to make some calls, assuming we still can.” He added.

“Nukes? He said he wanted us dead.” Nat said, crossing her arms as she looked around the room, though deliberately avoiding looking at Gitta.

“He didn't say "dead." He said ‘extinct.’” Steve added, looking across at Tony.

“He also said he killed somebody.” Clint said, leaning against the railing between Brigitta’s and Bruce’s labs.

“There wasn't anyone else in the building.” Hill said, as she set another glass shard into the dish on the bench.

“Yes, there was.” Tony muttered, realising who Ultron had killed, tapping his phone over the glass floor, revealing a very dismantled orange sphere.

“What?” Bruce muttered, moving away from Itta so that he could see the destruction from other angles.

“Jarvis…” Gitta whispered, shocked at what Ultron had done to the other program.

“This is insane.” Bruce muttered, looking at the other scientists.

“Jarvis was the first line of defence.” Steve noted, “He would have shut Ultron down. It makes sense.” He rationalised.

“No. Ultron could have assimilated Jarvis.” Bruce argued, looking over at his colleagues, “This isn't strategy. This is... rage.” He added, seeing how the program structure was destroyed, similar to what his transformations used to look like, just as Thor returned, a determined look on his face as he set his hammer down, grabbing both Gitta and Tony by their necks.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Steve exclaimed, seeing as Gitta take a deep breath through her nose, before finding a grip on Thor’s hand. Even if she had lied to them, this was overstepping the boundary of reasonable anger.

“It's going around.” Rhodey muttered, as Tony struggled from being picked up off the ground, attempting to hold Clint back as Gitta’s older brother rushed forward.

“Come on, use your words, buddy.” Tony wheezed, as Gitta delivered a swift and unexpected kick to Thor’s throat, causing him to drop her. Dashing over to Clint, Gitta welcomed his arm around her.

“I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark.” Thor muttered, recovering from Gitta’s quick and unexpected attack on his throat.

“Thor. The Legionnaire.” Steve asked, pulling Thor’s mind away from murdering members of the team.

“Trail went cold about 100 miles out, but it's headed north. And it has the scepter.” Thor reported, “Now we have to retrieve it, again.” He added, turning around to glare at Tony.

“Genie's out of that bottle.” Nat said, glaring at Stark as well, noting that Brigitta had moved away from Clint, and was quietly sipping her tea, next to Banner, “Clear and present is Ultron.”

“I don't understand. You built this program.” Cho said, looking at the remains of one of the bot’s they had destroyed, “Why is it trying to kill us?” She asked, causing Tony to start laughing, his back to the rest of the Avengers.

“Mmm-mmmm.” Bruce warned, subtly shaking his head, trying to stop the situation from flaring up again.

“Not the time.” Brigitta muttered, echoing Bruce’s concern.

“You think this is funny?” Thor asked, confused at the reaction that Tony was giving to the situation.

“Here we go.” Gitta whispered over the top of her mug, rolling her eyes at what the so-called genius was going to let out of his unfiltered mouth next.

“No.” Tony replied, turning around to face the team, “It's probably not, right?” He added, as he leant back on the desk slightly, looking over his shoulder at Bruce and Brigitta. “This is very terrible. Is it so...” Tony continued, as the rest of the Avengers shared looks between themselves, “Is it so... It is. It's so terrible.”

“This could have been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand.” Thor reasoned, trying to respond to Tony in the best way he could.

“No. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.” Tony cut in, walking over to the blond god, “It is funny. It's a hoot that you don't get why we need this.”

“Tony, maybe this might not be the time.” Bruce said quietly, standing stiff. This was exactly how the fights between his parents started, and usually ended with him and his mother being hit.

“Really? That's it? You just roll over, show your belly every time somebody snarls?” Tony snarked, “Run back to Gitta with your tail between your legs?”

“Only when I've created a murder bot.” Bruce replied, widening his eyes as Tony continued on rampaging and defending what they had done.

“We didn't.” Tony pushed, looking between both of his fellow scientists, “We weren't even close. Were we close to an interface?” He asked.

“We were close enough that I started to program morals and ethics into it.” Gitta said, “But unfortunately, you kept pushing ahead, even though the program wasn’t finished.” She added, “I was only halfway through the moral coding.” She finished.

“Well, you did something right.” Steve interjected, sensing that Gitta would want to snap Tony’s neck at any moment, and Bruce would hold the genius for her. “And you did it right here. The Avengers were supposed to be different than S.H.I.E.L.D.”

“Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?” Tony asked, causing groans to sound throughout the room, as well as a Clint snapping a biro pen between his hands, as he signed if he could shove the jagged edge in Tony’s jugular at her.

“No, it's never come up.” Rhodey said, voicing the thoughts of everyone in the room.

“Saved New York?” Tony continued, ignoring the eye rolls and obvious sighs.

“Never heard that.” Rhodey added, looking away from his friend.

“Recall that?” Stark finished, standing in the centre of the lab, pointing up at the ceiling. “A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing 300 feet below it. We're the Avengers.” He monologued, “We can bust arms dealers all the livelong day, but... that up there, that's... that's the endgame.” He asked, looking around at the room, “How were you guys planning on beating that?”

“Together.” Steve replied, knowing that every one of the team members in this room would have kept fighting the Chitauri if he had asked them to.

“We'll lose.” Tony said, looking at the super soldier.

“Then we'll do that together, too.” Steve replied, “Thor's right. Ultron's calling us out. And I'd like to find him before he's ready for us. The world's a big place. Let's start making it smaller.” He said, turning away from everyone and looking out over the ruined common area. “I think we should give Brigitta the benefit of the doubt. If her powers are even similar to the Enhanced female in Sokovia, I’d like to know what we can do to counter that.”

“Agreed. The smaller Barton should remain on the team.” Thor added, listening to Steve’s reasoning. Even if it reminded him of Loki.

“I’ve always wondered how you stopped that car in Budapest.” Nat said quietly, “I guess I know now.” She added, “I vote stay.”

“I’m not letting you disappear again like when you were thirteen.” Clint said. “It’s a stay from me.”

“I’m in it with you for the long run.” Bruce said softly, “I’ll always help you with those breathing exercises.” He added, “It’s a stay.”

“She told you, and not me?” Tony asked.

“Kinda didn’t want to.” Gitta admitted, “He caught me catching a falling paint can.” She explained.

“I take it that Fury knew about it when you joined.” Hill said, “And if it didn’t go on your file, then it meant that you didn’t want it known, only that it you affect where you were placed on the threat watch list.” She reasoned. “What is your classification for it anyway?” She asked.

“Alpha class, level 3.” Gitta replied, “Alpha means that I can apparently turn it on and off at will, and level 3 means that it’s pretty strong. It’s stronger now that I have some practice with it.” She added, “A decade ago, I wouldn’t have been able to even stop the bot from flying at us.” She explained, looking up to Bruce, “This guy has a pretty good idea about training something like that.”

“That I don’t doubt.” Steve said, peering at his watch, “It’s three am right now, do we have an all-nighter?” He asked, as he saw Tony and Nat at the computers, Brigitta holding her floppy disks to her chest, and the tired looks on everyone’s faces.

“I’ll get the paper files.” Clint muttered, waving for Thor to follow him.

“I’ll get tea and coffee boilers up her.” Hill added, applying the final bandaid to her foot.

“I’ll get a broom and start cleaning up in here.” Steve said, “Both of you keep calm.” He added, pointing at Bruce and Brigitta.

“Stark, we’re going to carry boxes of files.” Nat said, grabbing Tony by the wrist and pulling him towards Clint and Thor’s retreating forms.

“Do you just backup your work or everything on the system?” Rhodey asked, looking over at Brigitta, as the others departed.

“Just what’s on my log in.” Brigitta said, “Everything on system would take about a hundred of these, of just a day’s work.”

“Right, I’ve got some calls to make.” Rhodey said, as he walked out of the room, wondering where he would be able to find an old landline at this time of morning.

 

* * *

 

 

 Four hours later, multiple cups of coffee and tea, and new clothes, Gitta was elbow deep in her box of paper files. Clint had already emptied a box of bandaids with the paper cutting his fingers.

“This entire room is a major fire hazard.” Clint mused as Gitta passed him another energy drink.

“Yeah.” She muttered, as her brother’s phone began to buzz. The fake contact name for Laura popped up on the screen, “The boss calls.” She muttered, pulling another file out.

“I’ll be back.” Clint replied, picking the phone up and walking out of the lab, over to an overhang walkway, thinking that it would be private enough to take the call. Tony had shut off the power to most of the tower, in an attempt to isolate whatever else of Ultron remained there.

“How’s the hunt going?” Bruce asked, walking in and taking a seat next to her. He had been working with Nat on getting the most basic parts of the Operating system back under their control.

“Take that pile there.” She said, pointing next to where the box of bandaids was. “This is box forty-six, I think, of about a hundred.” She added, stretching backwards in her chair while yawning, “I’m getting a cold, and Thor’s found more boxes.” She finished, as Hill and Steve returned.

“What's this?” Tony asked, appearing from where he had been sitting on the floor surrounded by his own boxes.

“A message.” Steve replied, as Thor, who had been holding the tablet, slapped it into Tony’s stomach. “Ultron killed Strucker.”

“And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us.” Tony added, looking at the picture, before passing it around.

“This is a smoke screen.” Nat said, looking up from the computer she had isolated, “Why send a message when you've just given a speech?”

“Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss.” Steve reasoned, looking over at Brigitta, who was wrapping a bandaid around her finger. Which explained Bruce wandering away from her. While he was good with blood, he didn’t like seeing Brigitta’s blood. Apparently, it made the Other Guy uneasy.

“Yeah, I bet he... Yeah.” Nat said, typing away at what remained of their database, “Everything we had on Strucker's been erased.” She finished, as a pop up appeared, reading ‘Deleted’.

“Not everything.” Steve said, sweeping an arm at the boxes. “Brigitta, what boxes are the ‘watch and act persons’?” He asked, as the older assassin raised her head.

“Boxes 70-80.” She replied, standing and walking by the rest of the team to where Clint had dumped the boxes she had mentioned. “Which are all here.” She added, running a hand through her loose fringe. She had spent a few minutes earlier braiding her hair down her back so that it stayed out of the way, though her fringe had since come loose. Lila would have been calling her Aunty Elsa if she was there.

 

* * *

 

 

“Known associates.” Steve said, picking up another box and moving it over to the work table. “Baron Strucker had a lot of friends.” He added, seeing that Bruce had the corresponding box.

“Well, these people are all horrible.” Banner muttered, seeing the record on one of the men.

“Wait. I know that guy.” Tony said, pointing to the file that his colleague was looking at, “From back in the day. He operates off the African coast. Black market arms.” He explained, before getting a strange set of looks from the team.

“And people think me moving stuff with my mind is bad.” Brigitta muttered, pulling out Strucker’s previous research and hypothesis during his life.

“There are conventions. All right?” Tony replied, defending himself, “You meet people. I didn't sell him anything. He was talking about finding something new, a game-changer. It was all very Ahab.” He finished, as Bruce opened the dossier more, surprised to see that it wasn’t all black but actually quite full of information.

“This?” Thor asked, seeing the markings on the dealer’s neck.

“It's a tattoo, I don't think he had it.” Tony replied, waving his hand over the photos.

“Those are tattoos, this is a brand.” Thor said, pointing to what he meant, before looking at Bruce to see if he could find what the brand meant on the database.

“Oh, yeah. It's a word in an African dialect meaning ‘thief’. In a much less friendly way.” He replied, as the match came up on the screen.

“What dialect?” Steve asked, interested in what this man could have stolen from a small area in Africa.

“Wakanada.” Bruce tried, turning back to the computer to consult it, “Wakanda.” He confirmed, as an intense look was shared between Steve and Tony.

“If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods...” Tony said, looking worried at what could have been stolen.

“I thought your father said he got the last of it.” Steve replied, crossing his arms as he looked at Tony.

“I don't follow.” Bruce cut in, knowing that he would be the only person in this room not knowing what came out of Wakanda. “What comes out of Wakanda?” He asked, moving back over to the table.

“The strongest metal on Earth.” Tony replied, looking down at Steve’s shield.

“Where is this guy now?” Steve asked, looking over at Brigitta and Nat, both of who were already doing a face trace.

“Got him.” Brigitta said, sneezing for effect. “There’s a salvage yard off the African cost.” She said, “I got a satellite image of him boarding a grounded ship called the _Churchill_.” She added.

“Time to suit up.” Steve said, looking around at the team.

“I think this is a stealth mission Cap.” Gitta said. “I’m definitely not useful right now.” She added.

“Thanks for being honest with that at least.” Steve said, “Can you monitor it from here?” He asked.

“Sure as hell can.” Brigitta replied, as the team rushed out and towards their lockers, getting ready for the mission.

“I can stay with Itta, if she’s not feeling too well.” Bruce said, looking worried at his girlfriend.

“No, you need to go in case something happens.” Brigitta insisted, “I’m a big assassin, and I can take care of myself.” She added. “I’ll see you when you get back.” She finished, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

“Then we can get some proper sleep.” Bruce said, reminding her that there would still be a few hours before the Quinjet arrived at the salvage yard.

“Agreed.” She said, as she picked up her floppy disks, knowing that these were what remained of her work here at the tower. No way was she letting these out of her sight again. Or until she had made more backup copies.


	5. Clint's Farm

“So Clint’s fine?” Laura asked, a worried look passing across her face.

“As far as I know he is, but the rest of the team isn’t.” Brigitta replied, making sure to keep her voice low, right now, the last thing either of them wanted as for the kids to hear about what had happened, though they would probably see it on the news tonight. “But I have something slightly more urgent to ask you about.” She said, causing her pregnant sister-in-law to lean in further.

“Gitta, are you ok?” Laura asked, even more worried, “You’re not taking new assassination jobs? You’re healthy?”

“I’m staying away from that easy money, Lars.” Brigitta replied, taking a deep breath, before slowly moving her hands down to her lower stomach. “I’m kinda pregnant too.”

“And you’re scared for the child, and yourself?” Laura guessed, a knowing smile on her face, “Does that Banner guy know?”

“No, but I do intend on telling him once this Ultron business is over.” Gitta replied, seeing the shocked look on Laura’s face.

“I thought that shirt looked a little tighter.” Laura smiled, wrapping an arm around the assassin. “I’m here for you.” She said, before looking up, “Does anyone else know?” She asked, wondering if who was supporting her.

“Only Nat, because she wouldn’t lose her head about any of it.” Gitta replied, looking at the bags that were stacked up in the hallway. Lucky was sniffing them, trying to work out if he knew who they belonged to, letting out a happy bark when he smelt Nat’s crisis bag.

“That I can understand.” Laura replied, looking out the window at the darkening sky. “How far do you think they’re out?” She asked.

“They’ll be here either before or after breakfast, if Clint’s got his times right.” Gitta replied, “Want some help getting everything set up?”

“I want to say no considering your pregnant, with your first child, but you’re also significantly less pregnant than me.” Laura smiled, standing up, her sister-in-law following her to the downstairs linen press, letting Brigitta reach up and pull the bedding down.

“I just told you, and you’re already excited to be an aunt.” Gitta replied, picking out the better sheet sets. “I can’t imagine what you’re going to be like when the baby actually arrives.”

“This is nothing, trust me.” Laura said, dropping her voice, “And I can’t be more happy for you.” She added, as they opened the doors to the small room across from Lila’s room. “I think we put Steve and Tony in here.” She added, as Gitta flicked on the light, not noticing the stifled giggled. “Thor can sleep on the pullout, and Nat’s gonna be in Lils’ room.” She planned.

“And I get Bobby.” Gitta smiled, liking how the older woman thought.

“Exactly, now,” Laura said, glancing at the time on her watch as she made the bed, “I think you should get some sleep while you can, before everyone else, and then the little one get here.” She added, shooing the assassin out of the room, and down the hall to her own.

“Ok, ok!” Gitta laughed, noticing that Lucky was now following her. “You don’t get to sleep with me tomorrow night boy.” She said softly opening her door, watching as the dog quickly ran and jumped up onto her bed. “Night Lucky.” She muttered.

 

* * *

 

 

One of the things she liked about the farm was that they were all up at the crack of dawn, having breakfast in the relative dark, before they all went out to work. This morning, Coop was going to help her out in the paddocks, checking some of the fences that she and Clint were planning on redoing, as well as checking on the animals. Then it would be helping them with whatever homework Laura couldn’t.

It was about ten o’clock when she had just walked out the mud room door, hoping to find where Lucky had run off to, probably chasing the chickens, if he remembered how to get into the yard. The clucking helped her theory. Smiling, Gitta headed towards the chicken coop, not hearing the Quinjet land. “Out of there Pizza Dog.” She called, as the Lab Retriever’s head shot up, “Come on, time to go back in.” She added, opening the gate, fending off the chook that had been named Tony and Stark, some of the more adventurous chooks that they owned.

Heading back to the house, pulling her gumboots off, and opening the old screen door, letting the dog run ahead of her, humming as she headed to the kitchen, she was oblivious to the team standing in the living room.

“How’s little Natasha?” Asked Nat had asked, noting how the rest of the men on the team were shocked to Brigitta waltzing into the kitchen, dressed in an old flannel and a pair of jeans that had far too many stains and a few small holes in the legs.

“It’s Nathaniel.” Laura admitted, smiling as Nat leaned down, quietly threatening her growing baby.

“Albatross?” Steve called, seeing the assassin humming one of the songs from the _Mary Poppins_ movie, as she browsed the fridge, before pulling out a pitcher of homemade orange juice.

“Blackhawk’s already here?” Clint asked, letting go of his wife and turning to face his sister, “Loser!” He exclaimed, waiting for her to have set the pitcher down on the bench.

“Delinquent.” Brigitta replied, smiling slightly before she saw the state of the team. “Holy cow.” She muttered, seeing the white jumper that Bruce used as an emergency shirt after an unexpected code green. “Juice can wait.” She added, making her way over to Bruce. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” She said softly, glad that she had already taken his crisis bag up to her room. Waiting for him to move before she led the way to her room. “I grabbed all the crisis bags.” Gitta explained, softly.

“How’d you know?” Bruce asked softly, following her up the stairs.

“I was scrolling through twitter and saw some livestreams pop up.” She explained, “I tried to talk Tony through calming you down, but after he told me that the lady messed with your mind, and with me not being there,” Gitta paused, “I had to make the call about what would’ve been the best way to stop the Other Guy.” She added, looking down at her feet. “Unfortunately, it had to be Tony knocking you out, and I won’t forgive myself for it.”

“I don’t envy you…” Bruce muttered, pulling at the sleeves of his jumper again.

“I apologise for the mess,” Gitta said, her hand on an antique door handle, “But this is my room.” She said, opening it, “You might recognise it.” She added softly.

“This was where you were that night when I skyped you…” Bruce muttered, looking at the bed and the wall behind it.

“I didn’t want to blow cover, considering what Clint and I had to go through to even get the farm back from the state.” She explained, “Sorry.” She muttered, sitting down on the bed, “Bathroom’s through that door there, I already set your wet-pack out on the sink.” She added, as stood just next her, knowing that now was not the time to hug him, no matter how much she wanted to, or he needed it.

What she wasn’t expecting was him to sit on the bed next to her.

“You are far too good for any of us.” Bruce said, wrapping his arms around her, “And God knows that I do not deserve you.”

“I’m going to need to write a list like yours, Bobby.” She muttered into his chest.

“As much as I love cuddling with you, I think I really need to shower, before I destroy your quilt.” He said, the basest tinge of a smile in his voice.

“That might be a good idea.” Gitta replied, “I’m in the process of making new backups from my floppy disks.” She added, as Bruce picked up the towel that was folded across the bottom of the bed, and headed into Gitta’s bathroom. Walking over to her custom-built computer, Gitta pulled out her most recent floppy disk, and pushed it into the drive, laughing silently as the computer had to process what it was reading.

It was a few minutes later when the shower stopped running, and the tap turned on. By then, Gitta had set her spare external hard drive to back everything that was on the disk. Walking over to her bed, and lying down on it, praying that this day was already over, Bruce opened the bathroom door.

“Were you waiting?” He asked, looking concerned about the amount of hot water he had just used to loosen his muscles. “We used all the hot water.” He added softly, drying a wet spot on his shoulder.

“I’ll keep.” Brigitta replied, “It didn’t seem like the time to join you, not that I didn’t want to.” She added.

“We missed our window.” Bruce shrugged, picking up a clean shirt from his bag, setting the towel over the back of a chair.

“Maybe…” Brigitta said, standing up, “Maybe this time.” She amended, shrugging her shoulders.

“The world just saw the Hulk. The real Hulk, for the first time.” Bruce said, shaking his head, “You know I have to leave.” He added, pulling the shirt on.

“You assume that I have to, or want to stay?” Brigitta countered, looking down at her hands, “You know, I had this dream. It felt like years.” She said, looking around the room, trying to figure out what to sat next.

“What did you dream about?” Bruce asked, like he did whenever she had nightmares. Except now, he had just lived his, and was still not in the total control he had been.

“That I was an Avenger.” Brigitta replied, tears starting to well in her eyes, “That I was anything more than the assassin they made me at that circus.” She added, seeing Bruce straighten up. If it was one thing he understood was as difficult for him to do, it was opening up about their pasts. He had heard the barebones version many times, but never in detail. “Taking away whatever childhood I might’ve had if we’d been adopted, or if our grandparents had managed to find us.” Gitta continued, “Being a six-year-old, and knowing that your next meal will depend on if your brother and you both succeeded on killing someone. They all had families.” Gitta mumbled, “There was one that had a child my age. They had seen the show the night before.” She added, wiping away the silent tears that fell.

“I think you're being hard on yourself.” Bruce said softly, never having seen her as lost and hopeless as this before.

“Here I was hoping that was your job.” She muttered, walking over to him, pausing as she went to hug him. “Sorry…” She mumbled, backing away, before Bruce’s hand caught hers.

“What are you doing?” He asked, looking concerned. “Itta, of all the people in this house, you’re the one that the Other Guy does not want to hurt.” He added, gently pulling her back, and wrapping his arms around her, “I’m as screwed up as you are, but you’ve had more time to cope and adjust to it.”

“But you need to understand that...” She started, not knowing if the dampness on his shirt was her tears or wet patches that remained after his shower. “If you want to run, I’m coming with you.”

“Itta, where can I go?” Bruce asked, genuine concern creeping into his voice, “You’re a talented scientist, and where in the world am I not a threat?” He asked, “You’d leave everything behind?”

“You're not a threat to me.” She replied, wrapping her arms around his waist, “You said it yourself.”

“Are you sure?” Bruce managed, “Even if I didn't just... There's no future with me.” He added, “I can't ever... I can't have this. Kids.” He continued, not noticing the slight hitch in Brigitta’s breathing. “Do the math. I physically can't.” He added.

“We don’t know for certain, so don’t saw we can’t.” Brigitta replied, “And for whatever reason we were blessed with a kid, I don’t think the Other Guy would want to harm them.” She added, “And your suppressant, that would help too.”

“So, we disappear?” Bruce asked, as Brigitta pulled back, properly wiping her eyes, and reaching out a hand for the tissue box on her bedside table.

“I know a few farms that need buying.” She replied, a small smile back on her face. “I’m going to go and get some air, want to come?” She asked, giving him a crooked smile.

“As long as we can bring the Pawpaw cream.” He replied, returning her smile as he gently kissed her forehead.

“Of course.” Gitta smiled, passing him the tube.

 

* * *

 

 

“Who’s chopping wood?” Laura asked, as Bruce and Gitta returned to the house a few hours later.

“Steve and Tony.” Bruce replied.

“They’re really going to enjoy having to share the queen.” Gitta smiled, glad that Bruce was feeling more like himself, even going as far to wrap his arm around her waist.

“That blond guy went missing too.” Laura added, looking concerned. “I hope he’s okay.”

“Thor’ll be fine Laurs.” Gitta said, kicking her shoes off, and throwing them into the mud room, just as Lucky appeared from the dining room. “Luck, this is Bruce.” She said as the dog padded over, sniffing Bruce, “Bruce, this is Lucky, or Pizza Dog, he responds to both.” Gitta added, watching as Bruce crouched down and let the dog sniff his hand, waiting for a tail wag before he petted it.

“I forgot that you mentioned that you had a dog.” Bruce replied, as the dog in question sniffed him, wagging his tail happily. “You’ve probably smelt me before on Itta.” He added, patting him.

“Look who’s got a new favourite human.” Laura smiled, setting a plate down on the kitchen counter, wondering what on earth they could cook enough of to feed everyone. “Does anyone have any food allergies?” She asked, looking up at Brigitta.

“Nope, we just eat a lot.” Bruce replied, looking up from the dog, noticing that Laura was looking shocked. “I’m kind of the de facto doctor on the team.” He explained, seeing the woman nod.

“I’ll get the meat, looks like we’re grilling.” She said, walking into the mud room.

“I’ll cook a deep dish and a pasta bake to help out.” Gitta said, “I can head into town now.”

“I think a mash might be good too.” Laura added, looking over her shoulder. “You think you can pick up an extra bag of potatoes?” She asked.

“Easy.” Gitta replied, picking up the keys to the truck that they usually used on the farm. “I’ll get my wallet and be right back.”

“I would offer to join, but I don’t think it’d go down well.” Bruce said, as Lucky bowled him over, forcing him to sit on the floor to pat him. “And I don’t think that the dog would be happy either.”

“Right, in that case, I will see you lot later.” Gitta smiled, “Laurs? I think I may have left my bow by the piano, I forgot about the weapons in the house rule.” She added sheepishly, as Laura turned around, holding one of the smaller knives that Brigitta had in her arsenal.

“I figured that.” The other woman replied, not looking impressed at the weapon.

“I think I gave that one to Clint, but I will take it back.” Gitta replied, picking up both her bow, before taking the knife from Laura. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Can you tell Steve and Tony that we don’t need that much wood?” Laura called.

“Sure thing, I think Clint’s supervising them anyway.” She added.

“That’s what I’m worried about.” Laura said, as the assassin disappeared up the stairs.

“Would you like me to supervise them, Mrs Barton?” Bruce asked, finally able to stand up now since Lucky had walked away.

“Call me Laura, Bruce.” Laura smiled, “And that might be more useful that Clint watching them.” She added, spotting her husband’s hearing aids sitting down on the bench. “He won’t be able to hear anything.”

“I’m a little rusty on the ASL but I can kinda get the point across.” Bruce admitted, as Brigitta came back down the stairs, and out the front door, before she aggressively stomped onto the porch floorboards, getting Clint’s attention through the vibrations of the old wood. That was followed by some signing unhappy face.

“He’s been in her room.” Laura translated, “This is a common conversation.” She admitted, passing the buds to Bruce, “Though these might help.”

“I’ll get them to him now.” Bruce replied, heading out the front door after Brigitta had left, and gently tapped on Clint’s shoulder.

“Yeah?” Clint asked, turning around, expecting to see Coop or Lila, trying to be polite.

“You might want to put these in.” Bruce said slowly, holding out the aids for Clint to take.

“Thanks man.” Clint replied, setting down his tape measure t put the aids in. “That shock arrow fried my other set.” He admitted, giving his teammate a guilty smile.

“You certainly managed to cover it.” Bruce said, genuinely impressed at what Clint had done.

“My left one wasn’t as badly effected as my right one.” Clint explained, “Luckily, that one was the one that had my comm in it.” He added.

“And you reverse lipread over here?” Bruce asked.

“Yep. Just something that I’ve had to learn.” Clint admitted.

 

* * *

 

 

“So we’re staying here for a week?” Bruce asked, as he climbed into bed next to Brigitta.

“A week is the shortest amount of time we can spare against Ultron, not to mention, a lot changes in a week.” She added, looking up from her trashy romance novel. “Not to mention, we need Hill to work on calming the situation, which she can’t do if we’re hanging around.” She added, looking down at her novel.

“Horrible?” Bruce asked, as he leaned against her.

“The first one wasn’t too bad, but this is kindling worthy.” Brigitta replied, dropping the book down on her side table, “So much for reading.” She muttered, wiggling her way down the bed, and pulled the cover’s up.

“Well, if we weren’t staying with your brother and the rest of his family, not to mention Cap and Tony are just down the hall,” Bruce started, gently kissing the crook of her neck, “I would suggest something else…” He added.

“And if we weren’t here,” Brigitta replied, “I would take you up on that.” She finished, turning her head to get Bruce’s lips, “And I would enjoy every second of it.” She added, leaning across slightly to kiss Bruce.

“I love you, powers and all.” He muttered through the kiss, as one of his hands found the back of Brigitta’s neck, allowing him to pull her closer.

“And I love the both of you.” Brigitta said, a smile passing across her lips, before she flicked off the lamp, letting them enjoy the peaceful dark that Iowa offered them.

 

* * *

 

 

“Nick?” Gitta asked, spotting the Spy walk out of the barn a few days later

“I heard that the team found out.” Nick replied, standing against the porch railing. “Did they take it well?”

“Apparently they only took it well because they figured that if anyone of them could go toe to toe with that Maximoff girl, it’s me.” She replied, “It was a little iffy there for a while, I’ll admit.” She added.

“Well, they didn’t kill you, or turn you over the the authorities, and Ross hasn’t thrown your arse in the Raft yet, so I’d say that’s a positive outcome.” Fury replied, giving her a small smile. “Are you going to invite me in for a drink, or am I going to rot out here?” He asked, crossing his arms.

“There’s some pop in the fridge.” Gitta replied, stepping out of the doorway, and letting Nick in.

 

* * *

 

 

“Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time.” Fury explained, after they had finished dinner. The kids were heading up to bed, and Nick was able to talk freely about what he knew. “My contacts all say he's building something. The amount of vibranium he made off with, I don't think it's just one thing.” He admitted, cutting himself a slice of bread, before refilling his drink.

“What about Ultron himself?” Steve asked, worried about where the ‘real’ enemy was currently up to.

“He's easy to track. He's everywhere.” Fury replied, “The guy is multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit.” He added, giving a pointed look at Gitta and Bruce before he continued, “It still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans, though.”

“Is he still going after launch codes?” Tony asked, as he stood in the sunroom, throwing darts at the old dartboard Clint had.

“Yes, he is.” Fury replied, “But he's not making any headway.”

“I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare.” Tony exclaimed, wondering how their program hadn’t already found them.

“You should talk to Brigitta,” Fury said, giving the assassin, who was busy washing dishes, “She did both the Pentagon and NASA at fifteen.” He added, causing Brigitta to turn around, and give Tony a smile.

“Found a lot of intel we didn’t have for a mission.” She admitted. “And the president’s phone number.”

“Well, I contacted our friends at the Nexus about that.” Fury continued, as Brigitta continued threw the dish rag down into the sink, and went to sit in her seat next to Nat.

“Nexus?” Steve asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It's the world internet hub in Oslo.” Bruce answered, setting his glasses on his face. “Every byte of data flows through there. Fastest access on Earth.” He added, knowing that he was possibly the best one to explain it to Steve, considering that it had been him that had introduced Steve to the Internet in the first place.

“So, what’d they say?” Clint asked, picking up three of the darts, and taping them together.

“He's fixated on the missiles.” Fury confirmed, “But the codes are constantly being changed.” He added, walking away from the bread board.

“By whom?” Tony asked, just as Clint threw his darts, directly past Tony’s head, getting a bullseye.

“Parties unknown.”

“Do we have an ally?” Nat asked, looking surprised.

“Ultron's got an enemy. That's not the same thing.” Fury admitted, “Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is.”

“I might need to visit Oslo.” Tony said, walking back from the verandah, and leaning in the doorway next to the fridge. “Find our unknown.”

“Well, this is good times, boss, but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that.” Nat said, looking at the empty plate in front of her.

“I do. I have you.” Fury admitted, giving them a warm smile as he crossed the room. “Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere. Ears, everywhere else. You kids had all the tech you could dream up.” He lectured, “Here we all are, back on Earth, with nothing but our wit and our will to save the world.” He continued, his eye landing on his three assassin strays, “Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission. And whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction.”

“Well, you can thank the Pigeon for not finishing the programing she was insistent upon.” Tony mumbled, though a glare from Bruce quietly told him to shut it. They were just as equal in what had happened.

“All this, laid in a grave.” Fury continued, sweeping his arms around, “So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard.” He finished, taking a bite of the bread.

“Steve doesn't like that kind of talk.” Nat said smugly, looking up at the Super soldier.

“You know what, Romanoff?” Steve replied, the smallest hint of a smile in his voice.

“So, what does he want?” Fury questioned, sitting down in one of the vacant chairs.

“To become better.” Steve replied, “Better than us. He keeps building bodies.” He added.

“Person bodies.” Tony added, thinking hard.

“The human form is inefficient. Biologically speaking, we're outmoded.” Brigitta added, “With the type of body he had when he stole the vibranium, he’s got us all matched.” She added, “We get sick, decay and die, but the metal bodies he has, are far better than these carbon-based bodies we’re stuck in.”

“But he keeps coming back to it.” Tony added, shrugging as he looked towards the two scientists that actually had doctorates in the field.

“When you three programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed.” Nat said, looking over her shoulder at Tony, as Bruce spotted a drawing that Lila had left on the kitchen table for Brigitta and Nat. One of a butterfly, if he was seeing it correctly.

“They don't need to be protected.” He said, understanding exactly what Ultron was getting at, it was a basic part of being human. “They need to evolve.” He added, holding the picture up, “Ultron's going to evolve.” He summarised.

“How?” Fury asked, lowering his glass of Iced tea.

“Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?” Bruce asked, looking around, seeing Brigitta’s face pale in the realisation.

“The cradle.” She muttered, looking up from the table. “He’s going to use the cradle.”

“We really need to get going then.” Steve said, nodding as he watched the rest of the team mobilise, racing up to the rooms that they had been in for a week, packing bags, and gathering weapons. Bruce even had pulled a knife from the top of the china cabinet, passing it to Brigitta as they went.

“I don’t care if you’re Albatross, but that does not mean you get to leave your knives hidden around the house!” Laura exclaimed, hands on her hips.

“It was at least out of the kids reach.” Brigitta said, passing her sister-in-law and heading up stairs.

“Pretty poor excuse.” Bruce smiled, as she pushed open her door, grabbing her bag and throwing her clothes, as well as anything else she though that would be needed in it.

“Do we have any of our Cellular physiology and Biophysics textbooks at the tower?” Brigitta asked, knowing that it would be their job to stop whatever Ultron had decided to cook up in the cradle, “Or even any of my Chemical Physics books?”

“No, and mine are too outdated to be of any major use.” Bruce replied, grabbing the stacks of books from her shelves, “But good thinking.” He added, as he picked up his bag, reaching for his pyjamas from under the pillows.

“We both know what we are going to need to do, and even we forget stuff.” Brigitta replied, picking up her bag, and reaching for her bow, and the few knives she had hidden in her room.

“Hopefully it isn’t anywhere near complete.” Bruce replied, as they headed down the stairs, as quietly as they could, heading for the smaller Quinjet that Gitta had flown out here.

 

* * *

 

 

“So would either of you like to offer an old man a lift to New York?” Fury asked, as he walked onto the Quinjet, taking a seat near Bruce.

“Don’t think I really have a choice, Nick.” Brigitta replied, finishing her pre-flight checks in record time. “I’ll see you idiots when you get back to the Tower.” She said over the radios.

“ _Copy that Albatross._ ” Came Steve’s voice, “ _Safe travels. Hopefully we can do something to stop this._ ”

“Agreed, Q2 over and out.” She finished, taking off, and turning the jet towards New York.


	6. Return to Sokovia

“Anything on Nat?” Gitta asked, as she tried to shoo Clint off the top of the cradle. One thing her brother never had understood was just because it was there, didn’t mean you had to climb it.

“I haven't heard.” Tony replied, waving Brigitta and Bruce over. “But she's alive, or Ultron would be rubbing our faces in it.” He added, as Clint finally got off.

“This is sealed tight.” Clint concluded, not looking impressed, “Unless the Blackhawk wants to rip it open, whatever Cho built is staying put.”

“We're gonna need to access the program, break it down from within.” Bruce said, looking across at Brigitta, who was nodding.

“I don’t know what’s in there, so no way am I ripping it open.” She confirmed, “And it’s too far along for us to fry the OS in it.”

“Any chance Natasha might leave you a message outside the Internet?” Tony asked over his shoulder, as Clint looked over at one of the computers Gitta had programed to help stop what was in the cradle. “Old-school spy stuff?”

“There are some nets I can cast.” Clint agreed, heading to the lower level, where he kept all of his spy kit, knowing that the Widow had dozens of ways to contact them. “Yeah, I'll find her.” He muttered.

“We can work on tissue degeneration if you could fry whatever operational system Cho implanted.” Bruce said, as he and Gitta went about plugging large cables into the cradle, knowing exactly what they had to do to reverse the tissue cycle.

“It’d be a lot easier if I was still fluent in Korean.” Gitta mumbled, looking over some of writing along the bottom of the cradle, no doubt giving them a warning of some kind.

“Yeah, about that.” Tony started, causing both doctors to stop what they were doing and look at him.

“No.” Bruce said, starting to back away from his friend.

“Tony, you’ve had a lot of dumb ideas, but this is the worst!” Gitta added, as he turned to her, “I’m not going to do this again.

“You have to trust me.” Tony said, looking at both of them.

“Kind of don't.” Bruce said, shrugging his shoulders.

“I’m an assassin and spy, Tony, I don’t trust anyone unless they earn it.” Gitta added, standing next to Bruce.

“Our ally... the guy protecting the military's nuclear codes,” Tony started, pulling out his phone, “I found him.” He added, tapping it in the direction of the centre of the room. Revealing a sphere made of an orange program.

“Hello, Dr. Banner.” Came Jarvis’ voice, as the programming started to reflect how the program was acting, “And Hello Dr Barton.”

“Ultron didn't go after Jarvis because he was angry.” Tony explained, “He attacked him because he was scared of what he can do. So Jarvis went underground. Scattered, dumped his memory. But not his protocols. He didn't even know he was in there until I pieced him together.”

“I think you have Dr Barton to thank for me keeping my protocols.” Jarvis said, causing Tony to turn to Brigitta, raising an eyebrow.

“You were missing a few things.” She admitted, shrugging slightly.

“So, you want us to help you put Jarvis into this thing?” Bruce asked, gently tapping the cradle.

“No! Of course not. I wanna help _you_ two put Jarvis in this thing.” He replied, patting the cradle, looking over at the scientists. “We're out of my field, here. You both know bio-organics better than anyone.” He admitted, seeing the textbooks both scientists owned, on tables, surrounded by potential equations on how to best break the body down.

“And you just assume that Jarvis's operational matrix can beat Ultron's?” Bruce asked, looking worried.

“We’ve been through this before, and we lost Jarvis.” Brigitta added.

“Jarvis has been beating him from inside without knowing it. This is the opportunity. We can create Ultron's perfect self without the homicidal glitches he thinks are his winning personality. We have to.” Tony pushed, walking around the cradle, staring down the two scientists.

“I believe it's worth a go.” Jarvis added.

“You’re a program, and currently, programs aren’t classified as beings.” Brigitta said, looking over her shoulder at the sphere, “You don’t get a say in this, and neither does Stark.” She added, turning to face Tony.

“I'm in a loop!” Bruce exclaimed, expressing exactly what they were both feeling at this point. “I'm caught in a time loop.” He added, stepping away from the cradle.

This is exactly where it all went wrong.” Brigitta added, “As soon as we started messing with things we don’t understand!”

“I know. I know.” Tony agreed, trying to get the assassin on his side. If she didn’t help, there was no way that he and Bruce were going to be able to get it done. But it was pleasing to see that Bruce was putting up more of a fight now than he had ever done in the past. Brigitta had really boosted his self-confidence. “I know what everyone's gonna say. But they're already saying it. We're mad scientists. We're monsters, buddy.” He added, stopping as he looked at Brigitta, “You have an evolved gene,” He said shrugging, “We've gotta own it. Make a stand. It's not a loop.” He added. “It's the end of the line.”

“Just because I have a slightly different double helix doesn’t mean that I want to be classified as anything other than the human that I am.” Brigitta shot back at Stark, “And this is way beyond what I know about anything, and I have four doctorates, in a variety of areas.” She added, “This doesn’t even belong on the same level as what I’ve studied about my DNA.”

“But you found the gene, and what caused it to mutate.” Tony said, “How different is it for you to do the same here?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m only doing this, because I know Jarvis has a complete set of morals and ethics.” Brigitta said, “And to act as a translator between biology and engineering.” She added, “Nothing else.”

“That’s what I like to hear!” Tony smiled, crossing the few metres between them, before picking her up hugging her tightly.

“Put me down before I kill you Stark.” She hissed, “I’ve got a knife right next to your deep femoral artery.” She added.

“Right, I forgot you are never not armed.” Tony replied quickly, as he set her down, “Shall we play doctors?”

 

* * *

 

 

“This framework is not compatible.” Gitta exclaimed, glaring at the screen in front of her.

“The genetic coding tower is at 97%.” Bruce added, understanding the problem she was having, it had already taken her four hours to find a suitable way to get the framework under her control, now it was still throwing problems at her. “You have got to upload that schematic in the next three minutes.” Bruce said to Tony, who was rewriting Jarvis’ code, to fit in with Brigitta’s framework, missing Steve’s entrance, including who he was flanked by.

“I'm gonna say this once.” The super soldier said, causing Tony’s head to snap up, as Bruce and Brigitta set another two cables into the cradle.

“How about nonece?” Tony replied, stepping away from his computer and subtle picking up one of his suit bracelets.

“Shut it down!” Steve commanded.

“Nope, not gonna happen.” Tony added, turning his back to Steve.

“You don't know what you're doing.” Steve added.

“And you do?” Bruce challenged, “She's not in your head?”

“Yeah, who actually has the doctorates in this room?” Brigitta asked, standing up from where she had just finished adjusting one of the cables.

“I know you're angry.” Came the girl’s heavily Eastern European accent.

“We're way past that.” Bruce said, glaring down at the girl, “I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade.” He added, noticing that Brigitta’s head swung around at the last comment.

“Robert!” She exclaimed quietly, knowing that that was probably something his father had said to both him and his mother. “Breathe.” She added, looking concerned slightly.

“Banner, after everything that's hap-” Steve started, hoping to reason with him.

“It's nothing compared to what's coming!” Tony said, turning back around, looking down at the girl and her brother.

“You don't know what's in there.” She exclaimed, balling her fists, and looking like Lila whenever someone said no.

“This isn't a game!” Steve added, looking over at Bruce and Brigitta.

“You think our combined ELEVEN doctorates are a game?” Brigitta huffed, motioning between her, Bruce and Tony just noticing that the other twin sighed deeply, racing around the cradle and their computers, pulling everything out, and ruffling their notes.

“No, no. Go on.” He replied, holding the core cable in his hands. “You were saying?” He added, just as a bullet appeared from the glass floor below.

_Clint._ Brigitta smiled, as she found a grip on the cable, pulling it back up, catching it in her hands as she managed to push it back into the cradle.

“Pietro!” The Maximoff girl yelled, rushing forward, only to be stopped by Bruce, who easily grabbed her and placed her in a headlock.

“I’m actually proud.” Gitta smiled, knowing that the fluency in the move came from her training.

“I'm rerouting the upload.” Tony said, typing away furiously at his computer, watching as Gitta managed to get some of the other important cables back in. Before Steve threw his shield at the software, causing sparks. Tony simply summoned one of his gauntlets, and shot Steve, causing him to be thrown back, before he got the chest piece on.

Clint appeared from down below, a gun loaded, and safety off, aiming it in case anyone else appeared.

“Go ahead, piss me off.” Bruce threatened, making sure that he had a firm stance and a good grip on the girl’s wrist. Somehow, she managed to push whatever red material she created when she used her powers, through her chest and into Bruce’s.

“You bitch.” Brigitta hissed, vaguely aware that Steve had been thrown into another part of the labs, as she got ready to take this girl down a few pegs.

“What do you think you can do, old lady.” The girl taunted, expecting the woman in front of her, Albatross, or Brigitta Barton, as Ultron had told them, an assassin with an even more impressive kill list than the Black Widow, or the Winter Soldier, to draw one of her knives, and attack her with the weapon. Instead, Wanda was surprised to see her grip something, before feeling a force on her shoulder.

“A lot more than you can kid,” Brigitta replied, “I was born this way.” She added, throwing the girl out of the glass next to them, standing taller as she looked down on the girl. “Don’t mess with what you can’t see.” She finished, ducking down to check on Bruce. “Do I need to tear her head off?” She asked, concern and worry crossing her face, as she pulled Bruce’s collar and top button open, checking for the first signs of the Hulk appearing.

“Just a little painful.” Bruce managed, “Like indigestion.”

“You don’t get indigestion.” Brigitta replied, as there was a crash from the lowest part of the lab, signalling Thor’s arrival. Turning as the Asgardian jumped up on the cradle, charging his hammer like it was a AED, before aiming it down at the machinery.

“Wait!” Bruce yelled, just as the lightning struck, causing the power to increase, jumpstarting whatever Cho had created. Bruce ran over to Brigitta, who was standing the closest to the cradle, and wrapped her in his arms, as they waited for the cradle to react to the new electricity it had been given.

Thor managed a deep breath before the cradle exploded, sending the god flying back through the thick glass, into the trashed workshop area of the lab.

“I can see why Clint thinks you and science is a problem.” Bruce muttered softly to her as they stood up from behind the desk they had found shelter in.

As the synthetic flesh and vibranium body rose from the cradle, landing softly on the undamaged end of it, it quickly found Thor, and shot after him, though the god grabbed his shoulders, and threw him out of the labs altogether.

“Thor and science are the real problem though.” She tried, drawing her knife as they all ran down the stairs to fight whatever Ultron had created, and Thor birthed.

“A good case can be made for both.” Clint muttered, passing Gitta a spare gun as they followed, spotting the android staring out of one of the massive glass windows, looking down at the busy city below, almost peaceful.

Holding Bruce’s hand as they arrived in time to see the body fly back to them, phasing on a bodysuit. “I am sorry. That was...” He started, shocking Gitta at how similar he and Jarvis’ program sounded. “Odd. Thank you.” He added, looking at Thor, before he decided to add a cape to his clothing.

“Thor.” Steve started, looking confused at what had happened. “You helped create this?” He added, looking at the life that they had created.

“I've had a vision.” Thor replied, “A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life, and at its centre is that.” He explained, pointing to the yellow gem in the middle of the android’s forehead.

“What? The gem?” Bruce asked, not following what his teammate was saying.

“It's the Mind Stone.” Thor explained, looking over at him, before he continued, “It's one of the six Infinity Stones. The greatest power in the universe, unparalleled in its destructive capabilities.”

“Then why would you bring-” Steve started to asked, before Thor cut him off.

“Because Stark is right.”

“It's definitely the end times.” Bruce muttered to Brigitta.

“He does not need this added to his ego.” She agreed, setting her gun into one of her hoodie pockets, looking across at the android. “I told you.” She added, “AI’s are not fun.”

“The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron.” Thor said, as the android spoke up.

“Not alone.” The android said, standing a little taller.

“Why does your Vision sound like Jarvis?” Steve asked, looking at Brigitta and Tony.

“We reconfigured Jarvis's matrix... to create something new.” Tony explained.

“But kept what was good, like the completed moral and ethics coding.” Brigitta added.

“I think I've had my fill of new.” Steve muttered, sending a look to Brigitta.

“You think I'm a child of Ultron.” The android guessed.

“You're not?” Steve snarked.

“I'm not Ultron. I am not Jarvis. I am...” The android continued, “I am.” He affirmed.

“Didn’t think philosophy was in the matrix that we uploaded.” Brigitta said softly to Tony.

“I looked in your head and saw annihilation.” The Maximoff girl said, stepping away from her brother, and challenging the android.

“Look again.” Vision told her.

“Her seal of approval means jack to me.” Clint said, moving forward in the group, voicing how everyone else felt about the twins.

“Their powers, the horrors in our heads, Ultron himself, they all came from the Mind Stone.” Thor said, “And they're nothing compared to what it can unleash.” He added, pointing to Vision. “But with it on our side...”

“Is it?” Steve asked, looking at Vision.

“Kinda sounds manipulative,” Gitta said, “He was born five minutes ago.” She added, “Jarvis’ past in him or not. We should let him make his own choices.”

“Are you? On our side?” Steve asked, following Brigitta’s advice.

“I don't think it's that simple.” Vision responded, looking down at the floor slightly, as if he was calculating.

“Well, it better get real simple, real soon.” Clint muttered, crossing his arms.

“I am on the side of life. Ultron isn't.” Vision replied, “He will end it all.” He added, stepping forward.

“What's he waiting for?” Tony asked, wondering why his previous program was acting like this.

“You.” Vision replied, noting the laugh that Brigitta tried to stifle. A quick scan of her body revealed something he wasn’t expecting. Though he kept his mouth shut. It was her decision after all.

“Where?”

“Sokovia. He's got Nat there, too.” Clint said, revealing what he had found of Nat.

“If we're wrong about you if you're the monster that Ultron made you to be...” Bruce asked, stepping forward, trying to seem as less of a threat then he actually was. “What will you do?” He finished, looking up slightly at the android.

“I don't want to kill Ultron.” Vision replied, pacing away from Bruce, “He's unique and he's in pain. But that pain will roll over the Earth. So, he must be destroyed. Every form he's built, every trace of his presence on the net. We have to act now. And not one of us can do it without the others. Maybe I am a monster. I don't think I'd know if I were one. I'm not what you are, and not what you intended. So, there may be no way to make you trust me. But we need to go.” He finished, picking up Mjölnir, and offering it to Thor, causing a stunned silence to fall over those that were there.

“Right.” Thor said, tapping Mjölnir in his hands, before walking over to Tony, patting his shoulder as he went, “Well done.”

“Three minutes. Get what you need.” Steve instructed, watching as the team dispersed, Clint and Brigitta heading for their lockers.

 

* * *

 

 

Grabbing her uniform out and heading into the changeroom, Gitta was glad that she hadn’t put on any more weight at this point, as she pulled her top on, changing into her pants as she went. She was part of the way through applying her makeup when the Maximoff girl walked in.

“You were born with your powers?” She asked, looking as the assassin applied her famous makeup.

“Yep,” Brigitta replied, “Turns out the best policy isn’t conceal, don’t feel. It’s actually working on some advanced breathing techniques.” She added, setting her yellow eyeshadow down on the sink. “No way are you going into battle in just that dress.” She added, seeing the short black dress she was wearing.

“I don’t have anything else.” Wanda replied, looking down at the jacket and dress.

“I’ve got a set of clean bike skins you can borrow.” Brigitta replied, giving her a smile.

“Thank you.” She muttered, looking down at her feet.

“I still don’t trust you, but I do understand the childhood you and your brother went through.” Brigitta said, gently resting her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “I’m Brigitta, Albatross, or Gitta.” She said, smiling softly.

“Wanda, and my brother’s Pietro.” Wanda replied, returning the smile.

“Let me pull my boots on, and I’ll get you those skins.” Gitta said, packing up her make up, and picking up her other clothes.

“Thank you.” Wanda said, shocked that the woman Ultron had told her was ruthless, a killer, and cold, was showing this much kindness to a stranger, much less one that had messed with her boyfriend’s mind, and caused him to Hulk out.

“Just a little Midwest, or Iowa hospitality.” Gitta smiled, seeing the cogs turning in the girl’s head. “Bruce has the same look sometimes.” She admitted.

“Are you sure you’re not telepathic as well?” Wanda asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Positive, I’ve experimented.” Gitta admitted, as she opened her locker, passing the girl the skins. “They said that one size fits all, so hopefully they’re all good,” She added, picking up her bow, and leaning it against the locker next to hers, before she started loading up on her knives, shocking the girl standing behind her at how many she could fit on her body without them being noticed.

“That was sixteen knives!” Wanda exclaimed, as Brigitta finally began to stock up on arrows, pushing blocks onto the sides of her boots, as well as in them, on her wrists, and finally a double quiver on her back.

“Well, I also have two hidden blades built into my boots, so technically eighteen.” Gitta smiled, as she picked up a bag that was sitting at the bottom of her locker. “And this is for Bruce.” She added, watching as Pietro quickly appeared next to them. Smiling softly, Gitta thought about all the times that Barney had done that when there was the chance she was going to have to take another assassination.

“Put these in.” Gitta said, picking up some of the spare comms that she had found in the Quinjet console. Right now, it didn’t matter who they belonged to.

“Ultron knows we're coming.” Steve explained as they sat on the jet, ready to go and fight Ultron. “Odds are we'll be riding into heavy fire. And that's what we signed up for. But the people of Sokovia, they didn't. So our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their lives in peace. And that's not gonna happen today. But we can do our best to protect them. And we can get the job done. We find out what Ultron's been building, we find Romanoff, and we clear the field. Keep the fight between us.” He lectured. “Ultron thinks we're monsters. That we're what's wrong with the world. This isn't just about beating him. It's about whether he's right.” Steve finished, as Toy turned around, and took off, facing the jet towards their D-day.

 

* * *

 

 

“I heard you’re the one to get Nat.” Gitta said softly, as she sat next to Bruce.

“The Other Guy’s not any good until the city’s cleared.” Bruce replied, shoving his hands in his hoodie pockets.

“Still a very brave thing to do.” Gitta reasoned, setting the bag down, and pulling out an extra knife that she had left in there from a previous mission. “At least take this so I know you’re armed with something you can use.” She added, setting it down on his lap, letting him get a good look at it.

“This was the knife you gave me after New York…” He muttered, taking his hands out of his pockets so that he could pick it up.

“It’s also the knife you prefer to use the most.” Gitta said, “So bring it back to me, ok?” She asked, figuring that if she got the knife back then she could tell him about the baby.

“And then we’ll run?” Bruce asked, his dark eyes staring straight into her blue ones.

“As far as you want to.” Brigitta replied, kissing his temple softly.

“I might just have to marry you someday.” Bruce replied, turning his head to kiss her cheek. “Make sure you get everyone out safely, and stay safe yourself.”

“I always do.” She replied, feeling his arm wrap around her, as she leaned in on his shoulder. “Been a busy two weeks, hasn’t it?” She muttered.

“Busier than we thought it would be.” Bruce agreed.


	7. End of the Ultronioan Age

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 4.00 am AEST, and I'm still awake.  
> Why have you been getting pretty much daily uploads?  
> I have an essay due Sunday that I haven't started.  
> But your comments also help to keep me going.

As Brigitta and Clint left the ship, silently wandering off in different directions, Bruce couldn’t help but feel something was different about Itta, but now wasn’t the time. Both of the assassins trusted him enough to go and find Nat. And he wasn’t about to let them down. Shrugging it off as Pietro and Wanda left the jet, Bruce found the knife’s sheath, and attached it to his belt.

 

* * *

 

 

“Is the city clear?” Steve asked over comms, was Tony set the jet down near the fortress, letting Bruce and Thor off quietly so that they could do their own missions.

“Clearing.” Brigitta replied, “My sections are all but empty thanks to Wanda.” She added.

“Similar over here, but people are bottlenecking the bridges.” Clint reported.

“Can we just get them across the bridges on foot?” Steve asked, raising an eyebrow.

“We’d still have a bottleneck.” Gitta cut in, “Except they’d be attempting to Von Trapp it.”

“I understood that reference.” Steve smiled, “Do what you can, it’s a big city, and we don’t need any casualties.” He added, making his way to the main bridge. “Stark, you and Vision go and see if you can stall for time, and get Ultron off the internet.” He added, running through the streets.

 

* * *

 

 

Barely a few minutes later, as Gitta was getting groups crossing on of the smaller bridges, Wanda next to her, relaying orders, she chanced a glance over the side. “We have Bots, repeat, Bots have appeared.” She said into her comm. “Everyone get off the bridge!” She yelled, picking up a child and running him back into the crowd. Luckily his mother was standing next to him.

“Get off the bridge.” Wanda echoed, pushing her way through to the front of the civilians.

“How strong do you think you can make a shield?” Brigitta asked, looking over at her.

“You can do that too?” The younger woman asked, as the first bot climbed over the stone wall.

“If I imagine it, it’ll be there.” Gitta replied, slinging her bow over her shoulder, “Ready?” She asked.

“As I’ll ever be.” Wanda replied, seeing one bot shed an arm, revealing a primitive, but possible more powerful blaster. “Look out!” She exclaimed, casting hers, noting that Brigitta had planted her feet, and had her arm’s thrown up, in what seemed to be a much stronger stance.

As Wanda took another hit, she saw Gitta pulled an arrow out of her quiver, as she took into account how many more bots had appeared on the bridge, and loosed it, sending out a critical shock to all of the bots in the area, playing through their electrical currents to take out even more of them.

“Clear!” Gitta shouted, picking Wanda up, and waving the people across the bridge.

“That was very impressive.” Wanda muttered.

“Well, I did have experience a few years ago with the Chitauri.” Gitta shrugged, as they followed their group, Gitta free running ahead of them to make sure that it was clear. “Where’s a safe spot to get them?” Gitta asked, into her comm, spotting Clint ahead, just as the ground started to move.

“The marketplace.” Wanda said, “It’s the safest place.” She added, as they headed in that direction.

 

* * *

 

 

Brigitta had overseen getting the group to the marketplace, though she spotted a large, green gamma experiment brawling nearby. “Run into the marketplace.” Gitta instructed, “Follow the police.” She added, waving them past, as she turned around, shooting another shock arrow at some of the bots. That caught the Hulk’s attention. “Hey Big Guy.” She smiled.

“Pretty lady safe?” He asked, just as he finished smashing some of the bots headed for the marketplace.

“Well, as safe as I can be.” She replied, “We’re in a floating city, fighting robots, and I have a bow and a few arrows.” She added, using the back of her right hand, her main bow arm, to wipe some of the sweat away.

“Good.” Hulk replied, jumping away from her, going to find more bots to smash.

“Aw crap.” She muttered, seeing a swarm of Bots coming her way. “Welp, time to behead some of them.” She added, shrugging her shoulders, slinging her bow over her back again, and dropped into a fight stance. Spotting each bot, and imagining hands on them, Gitta reached out and imagined ripping their heads off, making the movement with her own hands.

“That was impressive.” Came Nat’s voice from near the fountain, “Takes the fun out of everything.” She added.

“And I see imprisonment does nothing to mellow your sarcasm.” Gitta replied, “How’d you get Bruce to transform?” She asked.

“I had to push him into a hole, telling him that you need him to be green.” Nat replied, “No I didn’t kiss him as I went.” She added, as she took out another bot, swing Gitta load an arrow.

“Good because I don’t want to have to kill either of you.” She replied, firing the arrow and watching it take out a few bots before it returned to her.

“The boomerang arrow?” Nat asked exasperated “Why do you need or even think of an arrow that does that?” She added, just as she heard Clint’s voice cut in.

“How’d it go?” He asked, “Good?”

“Well it took out about four bots, and it came back.” Gitta smiled.

“I’m not going to even ask.” Came Steve’s voice.

“Respect the arrows, Cap.” Gitta replied, “And because boomerangs.” She finished, as she ducked off to another part of the floating city.

“I can’t believe you spent time developing one of them.” Steve muttered, before he returned his attention to more of the bots.

 

* * *

 

 

Gitta could tell that the air was getting thinner, if the sudden clouds were anything to go by. Turning around and taking down the last bot in her area, she could hear a crackle over the comms.

“Glad you like the view, Romanoff.” Came Nick’s voice over their channels. “It's about to get better.” He added, “Nice, right? Pulled her out of mothballs with a couple of old friends. She's dusty, but she'll do.” He added, a smile in his voice.

“Fury, you son of a bitch.” Steve muttered, smiling as he saw the Helicarrier.

“You kiss your mother with that mouth?” Nick asked, laughing slightly.

“Well, you’d expect it from me.” Gitta said, “Nice to see the old coat out of the closet too.” She added, as she made her way back to the marketplace, knowing that the lifeboats wouldn’t be too far away from deploying.

“This is S.H.I.E.L.D.?” Pietro asked, as he stood on the edge of one of the broken bridges.

“This is what S.H.I.E.L.D. is supposed to be.” Steve replied, looking across at the kid.

“This is not so bad.” He agreed.

“You’ll regret that when you taste the food.” Gitta cut in, as she saw the shapes of more bots appear from around a corner. “Who’s on the boat near me?” She asked, tearing a few heads off as she tactically retreated.

“Novák and Soós.” Nick said.

“Tell them that they’re going to need to empty the marketplace their selves, I got the next wave appearing.” She replied.

“Will do.”

Over the chatter on the comms, Gitta heard one she was fearing the most,

“They're coming for the core.” Steve said, as he ran back to the church.

“Avengers, time to work for a living.” Tony said, as Gitta got into one of the trucks in order to make her way back to the church. “Pigeon. You and Banner better not be playing ‘hide the zucchini.’” Tony added, causing Gitta to blush.

“Relax, Stank. Not all of us can fly.” She replied, as she paved a way through the cars, arriving at the church just in time. “See, I’m here, and so’s Bruce.” She finished, as Bruce jumped in from the opposite side.

“What's the drill?” Nat asked, as she arrived from a different side of the ruined church.

“This is the drill.” Tony said, pointing at the vibranium spinning in the centre of the ruin. “If Ultron gets a hand on the core, we lose.” He explained, hearing Thor’s challenge a little too late.

“Is that the best you can do?”

“You had to ask.” Steve sighed, his shoulder’s dropping slightly, looking similar to the kicked puppy Gitta had originally seen him as.

“This is the best I can do.” Ultron replied, spreading his arms, summoning the remaining bots, to him. “This is exactly what I wanted. All of you against all of me. How can you possibly hope to stop me?” He asked, challenging them.

“Well, like the old man said...” Tony replied, looking over at Steve, “together.”

Gitta had pulled out her knives, slashing some of the more exposed parts of the bots, before she realised, she didn’t have to hide her power’s anymore. Stowing them back across her back, Gitta smiled as she ripped apart the bots, occasionally helping Wanda shield the core as one flew over. Vision managed to create a beam of light from his Stone, stalling Ultron’s main body, getting Thor and Tony to catch on. Tearing the last of the heads off the bots, Gitta looked up at Bruce, smiling at him, as the three outside stopped shooting at Ultron, causing Bruce to start to move in for his own attack.

“You know, with the benefit of hindsight...” Ultron muttered, as Bruce ran at him, delivering a well-executed uppercut.

“That’s my Hulk” Gitta exclaimed, kicking a broken bot body away from her.

“They'll try to leave the city.” Thor noticed, seeing the other bots start to run away from Bruce as he went to get rid of them.

“We can't let them, not even one.” Tony replied, “Rhodey.” He added, knowing that the other man would be useful in helping out.

“We gotta move out. Even I can tell the air is getting thin. You guys get to the boats.” Steve instructed, looking around at the remaining Avengers. “I'll sweep for stragglers. Be right behind you.” He added.

“What about the core?” Clint asked, picking up his bow.

“I'll protect it.” Wanda said, looking at it, “It's my job.” She added, standing firm in her position, not leaving any room to argue.

“Nat? This way.” Clint said, as Gitta left to find a car to hotwire.

“Nice choice.” Nat smiled, seeing the car Gitta had chosen.

“Well, it took a little longer than I’d like to admit to hotwire it, but a little spit and elbow grease, this would turn out fine.” Gitta replied, opening the door, and moving to get in the driver’s seat.

“No way in hell are you driving a car like this.” Clint exclaimed, sliding in before her. “Take the back.” He added, pointing over his shoulder, smiling at the huff Brigitta gave as she swung herself over the back, settling herself in the middle, though she was partially perched on the boot. “I know what I need to do. The dining room. If I knock out that east wall, it'd make a nice workspace for Laura, huh? Put up some baffling. She can't hear the kids running around. What do you think?” Clint asked, as he drove through the maze of trashed cars, finding where the last life boat had been deployed to.

“You guys always eat in the kitchen anyway.” Nat agreed.

“Except for Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving.” Gitta butted in. “Maybe cover part of the verandah again?” She proposed.

“No one eats in a dining room.” Clint exclaimed, parking the car, as they heard a roar. “We don't have a lot of time.” He said over his shoulder to Brigitta, not noticing that she was already out of the car and heading towards Bruce.

“I think that translates to ‘So get your ass on a boat.’” Nat said, getting out of the car, and heading for the boats.

 

* * *

 

 

As Gitta made her way through the rubble of a ruined shop, finding her boyfriend tearing apart some old bots, she couldn’t help but give a smile.

“Hey, big guy.” She called, getting his attention, as she slung her bow across her back, “Sun's getting real low.” She added, flicking a piece of hair out of her eyes. There were a series of roars that generally meant that he was about to make his way over to her. Slowly raising her hand, and giving him a warm smile, Gitta was pleased to see that the Hulk’s eyes were in fact brown. “C’mon Bobby.” She said softly. Just as he was going to grab her hand, there was machine gun fire from the Quinjet.

Bruce roared loudly, as he grabbed Brigitta as gently as he could, using his own body to shield her from the shells. As soon as the Quinjet had thought they were dead, it moved on, allowing Bruce to picker her up.

“Safe.” He muttered, cradling her in his arms, before jumping across to where the Helicarrier was, being as gently as he could. “Pretty lady stay safe. Safe for Banner.” Hulk added, just as they landed on the deck of the Helicarrier. Setting her down gently, similarly to how Bruce had set her down on their bed before, Hulk turned around, jumping back onto the crumbling city, and jumping onto the Quinjet.

Shaking her head clear, Gitta ran for the inside, taking a deep breath of air not made mostly of Ozone, and headed for the bridge.

“Albatross.” Was the acknowledgment that she received all through the halls. Finally reaching the doors to the bridge, Nick saw the state she was in, which was possibly even worse than what she had been after Budapest, and even worse, what she had been when she and Clint had been recruited. Clint would possibly also say that she looked better after being hunted relentlessly by the Winter Soldier.

“Kitty-Hawk!” Nick said, dashing over, helping to guide her to one of the chairs.

“I need to get to a station. Bruce’s in the Quinjet.” She replied, “Tony left it in Stealth mode.” She added.

“Can you talk him down from here?” Fury asked, shooing a level 2 agent from one of the computers.

“It’s not the Hulk, it’s Bruce, his eyes are brown.” Gitta replied, managing to remember what channel the main Quinjet operated on. Since he hadn’t closed the link, she could still talk to him. “I really need to talk with him.” She added, as her eyes started to well up, but she managed to regain her composure in a fraction of a millisecond.

“Then you’re getting checked out.” Fury instructed, using the tone that he had often heard Phil take when dealing with either of the the recruited Barton siblings. “No buts.” He added.

“Sure thing Nick.” Gitta replied, opening the channel. “Bobby, please listen to me.” She started, holding her stomach softly, trying to pass it for an injury rather than the child she was carrying. “Hey, big guy.” She continued, silently cursing at the one-way channel. “We did it. We finished the job. Now I need you to turn that bird around, okay?” She explained, praying that he was listening. “We can't track you in stealth mode. So help me out. We need you…” She managed, before the channel was cut. In the second after that happened, Gitta let all of her walls down. None of the agents on the bridge would talk about what they saw. “Bobby?” She muttered, feeling the tears return to her eyes, “Please Bobby…” Gitta sobbed, feeling the burning tears fall from her eyes, leaving clean tracks down her face.

“Kitty-Hawk?” Fury said softly, wrapping an arm around one of the women he had come to see as a daughter, “What didn’t you tell him?” He asked.

“That… that… I’m pregnant.” She managed after a few seconds, “That we’re going to have a baby.” Gitta sobbed, completely breaking down.

“My poor Kitty-Hawk.” Fury soothed, wrapping her in a hug, “Hill take the bridge, I need to get Barton Jr to medical.” He instructed, waiting for Brigitta’s crying to lessen before he moved her. “Tell the team to meet me there.” He added.

“Yes sir.” Hill replied, looking shocked at what she had heard.

 

* * *

 

 

“Well, thankfully, the babies are ok, which is surprising.” The SHIELD doctor said, giving Gitta a warm smile, “And I think congratulations are in order.” He added.

“Babies?!” Brigitta exclaimed softly, praying that no one was outside the door just yet.

“Yes, actually, twins.” The doctor replied, “Which would explain a heavier weight gain, and already signs of showing.” He explained.

“Oh Christ.” Gitta muttered, as there was stomping from the outside the exam room.

“WHERE THE HELL IS GITTA!” Came Clint’s voice from outside of the door.

“Is that the father?” The doctor asked.

“Worse, my brother.” Gitta sighed, leaning back against the bed.

“I WON’T STAY CALM!” Clint’s shouting continued, “SHE WAS FINE ALL THROUGHOUT THE BATTLE, I KEPT AN EYE ON HER!” He added.

“I think you should let him in.” Gitta said softly, nodding as the doctor left, being pushed out of the way as Clint made his entrance.

“What the hell is wrong?!” He exclaimed, jogging to his sister’s bed, “Please tell me you’re not dying.” He added softly, grabbing her hand.

“Little dehydrated, but that’s to be expected.” Gitta replied, as Nat and the rest of the team filed in. “But I need to tell you something, you all something.” She continued, “I probably shouldn’t have been on this mission.” She started, choosing her words carefully.

“Well you were recovering from the flu, so I can understand that.” Steve said, thumbs hooked in his belt.

“It’s a bit more long term than that Steve.” Gitta said, shaking her head. “And it sucks, because all of you - where’s Pietro?” She asked, noticing that one twin was missing. A look to Wander confirmed her suspicions. “This can wait. It’s not the time.” She said, protectively wrapping her arms around her stomach.

“Barton, whatever it is, you can tell us.” Tony said, spraying deodorant on his sweaty clothes, now free from the armour.

“I’m pregnant.” Gitta said, trying not to break down, “I’ve known since SHIELD fell. Nat called me.” She explained, “That day in the labs, Tony, when you noticed that Bruce and I had been fighting…” She started to explain.

“You told him about it?” Tony asked, “And he said he didn’t want it?”

“No, but that was the day I found out.” Gitta replied, “That’s why Nat’s seemed more protective of me recently.”

“I gotta call Laura…” Clint muttered, running his hands through his hair, at a loss.

“She knows too…” Gitta said softly. “The team is the last to find out.”

“Great.” Clint replied.

 

* * *

 

 

“So how’s Wanda adjusting to having a guardian?” Nat asked, as they walked through the new Avenger’s compound.

“She’s loving it, we get to support each other, and I get to send her to university.” Gitta replied, “Which reminds me, first ultrasound.” She added, passing the photo over to Nat. “Not sure on the gender’s yet, but that is something I am going to find out.”

“I take it you’re going to give this up for a bit?” Nat asked, pocketing the photo.

“Well, yes, kinda have to.” Gitta replied, “Even getting around here is hard enough already.” She added, “I’ve got a job offer from Columbia, too. They need a professor that can teach most of the units.” She added, “Even for a bit, I did tell them I was, you know.” Gitta continued, “God, I never thought I’d ever be able to say those words.” She finished, a smile on her face.

“Planning on moving out?” Nat continued as they headed for one of the halls, leading them into the new training area.

“Already found a house.” Gitta replied, “And I, unlike Clint, won’t need to do anything other than get furniture.” She smiled.

“That’s something.” Nat replied, as their phones buzzed. “This must be the new Barton on the block.” She said softly, as a video popped up, with a very Barton looking baby.

“That’s exactly how I looked.” Gitta smiled, as Steve arrived, looking slightly shocked to see her there. “I may be off active duty, but I’m not on maternity leave yet.” She replied, giving the soldier a smile, “And I come with ultrasound photos.” She added, pulling out another, “That’s Thing 1 and Thing 2.” She said, pointing out the little dots in the photo. “Also, Clint and I agreed, this should be yours.” She added, pulling out a key with an address attached to it. “The lease is yours.”

“Dr Suess, I’ve seen those somewhere.” Steve said, bringing the address closer, “Brooklyn?!” He exclaimed looking shocked.

“It’s not the best apartment, but it’s lockable, and not too far from a good diner.” Gitta explained, “We both know how much you want to move back into the area.”

“I can’t thank you enough.” Steve replied, as a small cough from Nat turned him back into the present. Turning to the assassin he smiled at her, turned away from their conversation. “You wanna keep staring at the wall, or do you wanna go to work?” He asked, getting her to smile. “I mean, it's a pretty interesting wall.”

“I thought you and Tony were still gazing into each other's eyes. How do we look?” Nat asked, as she and Steve headed to where the new Avenger’s had gathered.

“Well, little ones, let’s head home.” Gitta said softly, rubbing her stomach, “I love you, and Daddy does too, even if he doesn’t know.” She added, turning to where the living quarters were, pinning a copy onto the fridge, as well as adding hardcopies to the pigeon holes that each of them had. That would give them something to smile about.

Smiling as she spotted the Columbia university shield on one of the letters in Wanda’s pigeon hole, Gitta headed back to her car, heading to the house she had found in the Bronx. It wasn’t Iowa, but it was big enough, had a good outlook, and she wasn’t too far from either Columbia or the Compound if Wanda needed her.

The only downside was moving both hers and Bobby’s stuff into it. When he wasn’t there to share it with her.

“I should’ve told him before the mission.” Gitta muttered, having seen what could’ve been a Quinjet in an ocean. “But he would love to meet you one day.” She added, “He still has my damn knife.” She added, hoping that wherever he was, that the small knife was enough to help him out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did warn you that it wasn't going to be a 'Happily Ever After' ending. Luckily, this is going to go on through parts of the TV shows, Civil War, and the next lot of Marvel films, which haven't been released yet. They look so good though!
> 
> I'll do my essay first before i start uploading the next part, maybe....


	8. Prenatal Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back!  
> So, after a bit of a break to catch up with the ever growing MCU, we will be hitting CW soon, and surprises in Ragnarok as well. :)  
> Hope you enjoy!

“I thought you weren’t taking any jobs.” Came a voice from behind Gitta. She wasn’t in her usual assassin gear, opting for a hoodie and some comfortable tights.

“Well, lecturing doesn’t always pay the bills.” Gitta replied, facing the other woman, “I thought you were still in therapy, Jessica.” She added, dropping her hood.

“They weren’t doing enough.” Jessica replied, passing her a dossier. “So, the word on the street is that someone left a bun in the oven and left.” She said, noting the Albatross’ clothing.

“Well, it happens.” Gitta replied, flicking through the information. “Are you sure your client wanted them dead?” She asked, assessing the victim.

“With as little pomp and circumstance as possible.” Jessica replied. “Pay’s pretty good.” She added.

“Can’t argue with that.” Brigitta sighed. “I’d buy you a drink if I wasn’t pregnant.” Gitta added.

“How far along are you?” Jessica asked.

“Far enough that I’m off the team until I can prove that I’m back to my normal self.” Gitta replied “And even then it might be three years before I could get back out on the field without worrying about them.”

“Crap…” Jessica muttered.

“It’s shit, but it gives me room to do the stuff I want to.” She replied, “I’ll take him out tonight.” Gitta added, opening her bag, and pushing the file in there. “You have my PO box right?” She asked.

“I actually want to come and see how you kill him.” Jessica replied.

“It’s not glamourous.” Gitta said, trying to keep the younger woman out of this side of the business. “Trust me.”

“Jesus Christ,” Jessica exclaimed, “I’ll live.” She added, “So I’m coming with you. Even if it is just to make sure that you’re safe.” She finished.

“Well, let me tell you something.” Gitta said, pushing her hair out of her face, “I know that there’s a big law firm that’s looking for some off the books PIs, apparently, they pay even better than working privately.” She added, passing a card to Jessica.

 

* * *

 

By the time Jessica had returned home, she knew exactly why the Albatross was the most feared assassin, even if she was an Avenger. People often said that the Hulk was the worst of them. They obviously hadn’t seen his girlfriend take an assassination case.

When Luke talked about them, a few months later, she almost laughed at his fear of the Hulk.

“Honestly, Albatross is the scariest, and no one realises it.” She said, “Have you ever seen her on a mission? It’s ruthless, and she doesn’t fail.” Jones added, causing Luke to sit back quietly. “Cleanest assassination I’ve seen in a long time.”

 

* * *

 

 

“So, that’s it for today, and if anyone has questions, I’ll be here for maybe the next twenty minutes, but after that, you’re going to track me down at the hospital.” Gitta smiled, ending her powerpoint, “Any questions?” She asked, sitting down at the chair at the front of the room.

“Does say Gamma radiation have any effect on some chemical compounds, like changing them?” One student called.

“Well, yes, they generally become radiated,” Gitta replied, smiling as the class laughed, “But generally, I’ve seen a lot of stuff happen.” She added, “Honestly though, what caused it to change wasn’t just the gamma, I may have also spilt a strip of few drops of liquid calcium in it too, I can’t really remember.” She finished, “More?”

“Are you gonna punch Dr Banner when you find him?” Someone else called.

“Don’t tempt me.” Gitta smiled, checking her time on her watch, “Ok, it’s Friday, get outta here.” She added, pointing at the door, “Just don’t show up to lab on Monday still hungover, I will send you back and mark you as absent.”

“Sure thing Dr Barton.” Someone called, getting Gitta to smile.

“Go on.” Gitta said, waving them out, just before Wanda walked in.

“How was class?” Wanda asked, setting her bag down.

“I thought I was supposed to ask you that question.” Gitta replied, resting a hand on her stomach, “But I’m glad they’re learning.” She added, “I take it you’re here to make sure that I make it to my appointment?” She asked.

“Yes, because you missed the last one, and the entire team flipped their shit.” Wanda replied, brushing her hair out of her eyes. “Sam wanted to shadow you the whole day.”

“Great, well, let’s go.” Gitta groaned, as she stood up, “How’s your classes going?” Gitta added, as they headed towards the hospital Gitta had chosen, mostly because they could provide her with the care that she would need, when she had to give birth to her twins.

“Good,” Wanda replied, “Though it is difficult considering I can just read their minds and find out what the problem is.” She added, tilting her head to the side.

“Well,” Gitta started, sighing as she tried to figure out how to explain to her why the college experience was also good for her. “For starters, some people don’t like having their head’s messed with, not to mention that from time to time, you will be asked to write papers for journals.” Gitta continued, “And it helps to know the content that you have to write about.” She finished, a small smile spreading across her face.

“I can see your point.” Wanda replied, as they walked into the maternity wing of the hospital. “But I don’t understand why I wouldn’t be able to, as you say, fake it till I make it?” She added.

“Trust me, the Sciences are one of the few departments that that rule doesn’t, and can never apply to.” Brigitta said, walking up to the nurse’s station, effectively finishing their conversation, “Hi, I have an appointment with Dr McCain, I’m Marie Barton.” She said, glad that she had chosen to use her middle name when making these appointments. It made it just that little bit harder for General Ross to find her and demand to know where Bruce was.

“You missed your last appointment.” The older nurse said, looking at the woman over the tops of her glasses.

“Yes, yes.” Brigitta sighed, rubbing a hand across her face, trying her best to not smudge her makeup. “I know, I got caught up with marking for some of my Masters students.” She lied.

“Make sure that it doesn’t happen again.” The older nurse said.

“That’s why I’m here.” Wanda replied, giving the woman a smile, “And she’ll turn up for any others that she needs to.”

“That’s good to hear.” The nurse said, adjusting her glasses as she continued clicking the mouse. “Dr McCain won’t be too long.” She finished, gesturing to the seats that were scattered around the waiting room.

 

* * *

 

 

“Well, it looks like the twins are growing well.” Dr Ella McCain, previously a S.H.I.E.L.D doctor, said with a smile on her face as she moved the ultrasound wand around Brigitta’s swollen belly. “The only concerns I have are that your young man seems to be growing at a faster rate than his sister, but it is common that twins develop at different rates.” Ella added, pressing print on the photos that she had taken for Brigitta. “And considering everything that’s happened, to both parents, I’d say that this pregnancy has been quite regular.” She finished.

“Well, that’s that done for another few weeks.” Brigitta sighed, accepting the tissue and wiping the gel away from her stomach, before pulling her shirt down.

“Now, I heard along the grapevine that you were doing a couple of jobs when we were supposed to have our appointment.” Ella said, staring at Gitta, “I know how difficult it can be to adjust civilian life, but you can’t do that to yourself, or the babies!” She added.

“It was just a low profile assassination, for a friend.” Gitta replied, “They needed someone that they knew they could rely on. I also hooked them up with a better job.” She added.

“Fury’s breathing down my neck here.” Ella stated, “We all know that you wouldn’t do anything to purposely put yourself in harm’s way, but even that simple and easy job would be enough to cause a miscarriage if it had gone wrong and you’d had to do some hand-to-hand.” She added.

“Fury’s breathing down your neck because he wants to see how dangerous my babies are.” Gitta said, crossing her arms protectively over her stomach. “Well, you can tell him that until I deem myself too pregnant to do anything, I will retain autonomy over my person.” She replied, picking up her bag and taking a deep breath. “Ella, I have nothing against you, but tell me truthfully, do you honestly think for a moment that I’ll take orders from a dead man?”

“Even if that man was Phil Coulson?” Ella tried, instantly regretting what she had said, as the assassin’s shoulders squared and set.

“Phil knew better to try and make me do anything that I didn’t want.” Gitta replied, “He knew what my limits were, and that I knew them as well. And if I’d asked him, he’d be staking out the target with me.” She finished. “I’ll see you in a month.” Gitta finished, heading for the door.

 

* * *

 

 

“I don’t see why you put yourself through that much stress, it isn’t healthy.” Wanda said, as she walked into the main room of the house Brigitta had brought in the Bronx.

“Stress is what has kept me and my stupid brothers alive this long.” Gitta said, not realising the slip before it was too late.

“Brothers?” Wanda asked, sitting down on the armchair across from her, her cup of tea held firmly in her hands, “There is more than Clint?” She added.

“Shit…” Gitta muttered, rubbing her hand over her face, “Can you forget that I said plural instead of singular?” She asked, trying to figure out how she was going to explain Barney to her foster daughter.

“I have two uncles,” Wanda said, a smile on her face, “I know one very well, but not the other.” She added, “I’m going to ask questions.”

“If I tell you, will you bury it deep into your memory?” Gitta asked, looking across at the young adult.

“Yes.” Wanda replied, her voice solemn.

“Ok, so I’m the youngest of the Barton siblings, we were all born in Waverly, Iowa.” Gitta started, “I’m eight years younger than Clint, and I don’t remember much of my parents. Our older sibling, Barney, is three years older than Clint. He wasn’t the nicest towards the end, but he was what Clint and I needed.” She explained, “Anyway, our parent’s died, and we were put into the system. We were going to be split, but Barney and Clint got us out, and we ran away and joined the circus.” She added. “Now, the _Carnival of Traveling Wonders_ was just a front for everything that was happening out the back, and it’s the reason that I’m an assassin. It was that or my body. I said teach me how to shoot.” Gitta added.

“That is horrible.” Wanda gasped, shocked at what Gitta had had to go through.

“Well, let’s say that being a gymnast has its perks.” Gitta smiled, “So, we were carnies by day, and assassins when we were needed. Clint and I are Hawkeye and Albatross, but Barney was different, you can google his name to get more information about why he got arrested, he was tricky with his shots, so they named him Trickshot.”

“I heard about him.” Wanda muttered.

“I’m not surprised. We’d been a pain in the Fed’s arse for years after we left the circus, and Barney took the fallout for it. And S.H.I.E.L.D had been on our arses for a bit, Barney went to jail and Clint and I joined up.” Gitta finished, “That’s the story of my other brother, which no one is to mention.”

“I understand.” Wanda nodded.


	9. Single mother with twins and a troubled adopted daughter.

“How did you manage to control your powers when your brother didn’t know about them?” Sam asked, sitting down on the couch in the Avenger’s compound. Gitta had driven Wanda up for the next few weeks, and had decided to stay for a few nights to see what the compound was like. That and Steve needed her help to teach Wanda a bit more of control.

“Surprisingly, he used placebos.” Gitta replied, shrugging as she set her water bottle down on the couch next to her. “Like I’m talking gloves, and breathing exercises.” She added, “And in his wisdom, which worked, Clint thought that if I couldn’t actually touch or feel the objects around me, it worked, so neither of us ever questioned it.” She finished.

“But you never had any formal training till you met Banner right?” Sam said, wondering how she had torn a training bot in half half an hour ago. “Like you just hid them?”

“Well, yeah, kinda had to.” Gitta said, shrugging as she kicked her shoes off, “No point showing them off when I couldn’t even lift a pen. And Bruce only helped to teach me a bit of control, with stuff he’d researched to control the Other Guy.” She explained, “But now, it’s more of a point, think I’m grabbing or imagine something, and use the thing.”

“That sounds much less impressive than it looks.” Sam laughed, shaking his head.

“Well, if you want I can show you exactly how powerful it can get.” Gitta laughed, as she sat back on the couch, calling an apple to her hand. “See, basic stuff.” She finished, taking a bit out of it.

“You think either of the Things will be like their parents?” Sam asked quietly, leaning forward to have a more personal discussion with the assassin.

“I’d like to say that they won’t, but, I know that they might have some attributes from both of us.” Gitta admitted, as she rested a hand on her stomach, “But I can definitely say that they are both stronger than expected, and a bit bigger.” She added.

“Well, at least you know that they’re developing right.” Sam shrugged.

“Sam, they’re pretty much developed, I’m counting down the days until they’re born.” Gitta said, “And I can’t wait until they are. I’m tired of carrying the extra weight.”

“And I don’t blame you.” Sam smiled, “I want to meet them as well.”

 

* * *

 

 

“If I ever see him again, remind me to kill him!” Brigitta screamed, waiting for the next contraction to hit, “I’ll murder him myself!” She added, taking a deep breath.

“We’ll remind you after the twins are born, ok?” Ella said, grabbing Brigitta’s hand, stepping in for the father, as she also worked to deliver the babies.

 

* * *

 

 

“How’re we going?” Clint asked as he and Laura finally arrived at the hospital, having called one of their neighbour’s, Kate, to watch the kids.

“As well as can be expected.” Nat said, “One twin is bigger than the other, and hasn’t turned, the smaller one, has turned, but isn’t lower.” She explained.

“Are we doing a C-section?” Laura asked, wrapping her head around the situation quicker than the rest of the team.

“Doc thinks that Gitta can get through it, and the option hasn’t been presented.” Nat replied, taking a deep breath.

“Right, I’m going to talk with the midwife.” Laura said, passing Clint her bag, her face turning to stone, as she walked in to help her sister-in-law through this.

“God help them.” Clint muttered, vaguely hearing Laura speaking harshly to the midwife and doctors, telling them to give up on the natural birth, and give Brigitta the option for the C-Section.

“Should we get flowers or something?” Steve asked, unsure what the current norm was.

“I got teddy bears as soon as I found out.” Clint replied, “Though, Wanda, did you and Blackhawk manage to get the cribs set up?”

“We got them, and looked at the boxes.” Wanda said, “Neither of us wanted to go that far.”

“Right, as soon as we see them, we go and set those bad boys up.” Clint decided, “But Steve, if you wanted to get her something, nappies and soft toys would be the best idea.”

“Right.” Steve nodded, leaning against one of the walls.

“Clint, we need you in there as next-of-kin.” Laura said, “We’re doing it.” She added, watching as Clint moved quickly to go and see his sister.

 

* * *

 

 

Twenty hours later, there were two babies born to the Barton family, at least publicly. The babies, a boy and girl, couldn’t have been more different to each other, but they were perfect for their mother.

The boy, Jason, had a dark head of slightly curly hair, something that was different from his mother’s family, but a common feature in his father’s. Louisa, however, had the same sandy hair as her mother’s, and similar undertones to Clint. Luckily, neither of them had the red hair that Barney had.

Jason, however, was much bigger than his sister, but with cause. As soon as he started crying, his skin took a pale green colouring, something that Gitta was quick to notice, and hide from the nurses.

“Well, Blackhawk, looks like you’re a mumma bird now.” Clint smiled, looking down at his first niece and nephew.

“A very tired mumma bird, you mean.” Gitta replied, lying down on her bed, trying to comprehend the fact that she had just given birth to two healthy children. “I think I could sleep for a decade.” She added.

“Welcome to parenthood.” Clint replied, turning to look at his sister, “It’s a whole lot of ‘I want to sleep’.” He added.

“Says the third-time parent.” Gitta said, closing her eyes slightly. “You think I did the right thing by keeping them?” She asked, worried about the implications that they would have. The children of Hulk and Albatross, General Ross would be on their doorstep in an instant if he knew.

“Yeah, I was wondering about which name you used on their birth certificates.” Clint said.

“Well, the ones that the public will have access to, they’re Barton’s. But their actual ones, that will be locked, say Banner.” Gitta replied, “I couldn’t not give them his last name. They are his after all.” She finished, looking over at her babies.

“You could’ve hyphenated.” Clint shrugged, as Jason pushed his way out of his blanket and grabbed onto his sister’s hand, before settling back down to sleep. “But you did the right thing, wanting to have them. And I can’t say how proud I am that you’ve done it.” He added, walking back to her bed and sitting down on the side of it. “The other’s should be back soon, and I hope you don’t mind that Steve and Sam went to set up the cots.”

“As long as they cleaned the house while they were there, I have no problems.” Gitta said, looking down at the scar that had now made itself at home on her lower abdomen, “Well, I got another scar to add to the collection.” She smiled.

“When these two are older they’re going to ask, ‘Mum where’d that scar come from?’” Clint imitated, “‘Well this one was from the time that I evicted you.’” Clint laughed, holding onto his sister’s hand. “You’ll be an amazing mum, trust me, and we’re all here to help you if you need it.”

“Thanks Clint.” Gitta said, squeezing her brother’s hand.

 

* * *

 

 

It was a month’s later that Gitta started to worry. Clint had headed back to Waverly, and she didn’t want him to fly all the way out here if she called. But Louisa, her little Lou, was starting to worry her. There were times that she went to check on them, and she could vaguely see a soft blue glow from around her daughter’s hands, contrasting with her Gamma green eyes in the relative darkness.

Jason and his temper tantrums she could deal with. While he turned green, he didn’t have the strength yet. That and he was usually a very calm baby. But Louisa, she was a problem.

“Lou, sweetie, what’re you doing?” She asked, walking into her daughter’s room, looking at the five-month-old, as she moved the mobile hanging above her crib. As soon as the mobile started moving again, the blue surrounding Louisa’s hands faded, much like how Wanda’s faded.

Louisa gave her mother a cute squeal as she was picked up. Smiling as her mother sang softly to her.

“I never thought I’d ever get to sing anyone but your cousin a Barbie song, but I get to do it with you.” She muttered, rewrapping the baby. Soon after she had taken the twins home, she had made the executive decision to just tuck the sheet around Jason, because he would only force his way out of it as soon as Gitta had left the room. “Well here goes.” She sighed,

“You're just like me  
There's somewhere else we'd rather be  
Somewhere that's ours  
Somewhere that dreams come true  
Yes I am a girl like you.  
You'd never think that it was so  
But now I've met you and I know,  
It's plain as day  
Sure as the sky is blue  
I am a girl like you.” She sang softly, setting the now sleeping baby back down, walking out of the door, making sure to shut it quietly. Wanda was staying over tonight, which gave Brigitta a few hours to finish that job she had taken on.

And while it wasn’t something that she needed to do to support her family, it was something that kept her skills sharp and senses honed. That and she was taking out potential threats to her family.

 

* * *

 

 

“Enjoy Lagos.” Brigitta called, holding onto the twins’ hands. “Say bye-bye to Wanda guys.” Gitta encouraged.

“Buh-bye!” Louisa said, waving her free hand.

“Bye-bye!” Jason added, waving his free hand.

“I promise I’ll see you two soon.” Wanda said, kneeling down to give both a hug, “Behave for your mother, ok?”

“Ok.” Lou smiled, nodding her head vigorously, causing the adults to smile when Jace followed his younger sister’s lead.

“Good.” Their older sister said, ruffling their hair, before she picked up her bag, ready to head to the compound.

“I’ll see you later.” Gitta smiled, letting go for her children’s hands to give her adoptive daughter a hug goodbye. “Tell Nat she better not kick your arse.”

“I will.” Wanda smiled, heading out of the house and towards the small car that she called her own.

 

* * *

 

 

It wasn’t until the twins were halfway through watching _Dumbo_ on the couch that Gitta got a text that something had happened. Apparently, Clint had been using his radio scanners with Cooper, and just happened to have been listening in on the comms. Whatever had happened had caused world leaders to call for restrictions to be placed on the Avengers. Something that was being supported whole-heartedly by the UN.

Gitta waited until she put the twins in bed to watch the news and see for herself what had happened.

“Oh, Christ Wanda, what went wrong?” She muttered, watching as the girl lost control of the explosion, and it slam into a building. “And why wasn’t that vest disarmed?” She added, frowning slightly. Pulling out her phone, ready to send a text to Steve and ask if he needed her to come to the compound and help Wanda recover from the shock, she was surprised to see that the super soldier had already asked her to come over, though his words sounded like it was more of a ‘the entire team needs to be here, 10am tomorrow morning.’ Quickly replying to the message, and sighing deeply, this was not how Gitta wanted to be spending the last of her maternity leave, and then part of her break from teaching. But there were worse things that could’ve happened.

“Wish you were here Bruce…” She muttered, turning off the TV and scrolling through her contacts to find Darcy’s number. If there was one person she trusted outside the team, it was Darcy. And the student was always looking for a bit of money while she tried to find a job. Sending that text, Gitta finally headed to bed, ready to see what the new day would bring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The twins are finally here!!! I have a lot of development planned for in between the movies, so you'll be seeing them more, don't worry.


	10. According to Ross, enhanced individuals are a problem

“Albatross, glad you could make it…” General Ross drawled as Brigitta walked into the meeting room, two minutes late and holding a coffee in a travel mug.

“Be glad that I’m here, I didn’t want to come.” Gitta muttered, sitting down at head of the table, kicking her feet up and relaxing. “You can continue.” She added, waving her hand at the Secretary.

“Five years ago... I had a heart attack.” Ross started, taking his hands off his hips and rubbing the poor excuse that he called facial hair.

“Too bad you didn’t die…” Gitta muttered over the top of her coffee mug.

“I dropped right in the middle of my backswing.” Ross continued, not hearing what Gitta had said, “Turned out it was the best round of my life, because after 13 hours of surgery and a triple bypass... I found something 40 years in the Army had never taught me: Perspective.” He continued to lecture, getting plenty of eyerolls from some of the team members. Steve and Rhodey were the only two that had managed to keep somewhat straight faces. Natasha looked like she was about to smack the Secretary down. “The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt. You have fought for us... protected us, risked your lives... but while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some... who would prefer the word ‘vigilantes’.” He finished, setting his hands back on his hips.

“And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?” Natasha asked, getting Ross to step into her trap. Gitta had heard that tone of voice on the other assassin before, and Ross fell for the honey in her voice.

“How about ‘dangerous’?” Ross started, clearly showing where he stood, “What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals... who routinely ignore sovereign borders... and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?” He added, shouting slightly at the end, as a few of the Avengers stated to vocalise their opinions. Ross quickly silenced them by playing some footage of the battles that they had been in. “New York. Washington DC. Sokovia. Lagos.” He said, clicking through the footage in an attempt to shock the team into heroes.

Gitta noticed that many of the clips included the Hulk, making him seem as though he was far more violent than what he had been. The clip from New York, in particular, was of him roaring at the Chitauri that had been attempting to get to where Brigitta had been. “And not only that, your individual missions. Even before you joined the Avengers, for example, Miss Barton has arrest warrants in France, and there are orders in Budapest for her to be shot on sight.” Ross continued. “She is the world’s deadliest assassin, with the highest number of kills.” He finished, clicking on another film clip, just CCTV footage, of a 14-year-old Brigitta slitting the throat of Senator James T. Wyatt, a senator who had debts he owed the circus she was in. Then another clip of Brigitta and Natasha working a covert op, where they had taken out five of HYDRA’s leaders at the time.

“Then shouldn’t you be glad that I’m on your side, and not HYDRA’s?” She replied, crossing her arms, and glaring at the Secretary of State. “Not to mention half of my flies are locked, forged, and blacked out.” She added, “That first clip certainly is locked.” Gitta added.

“It’s surprising what having a good history for bring justice and peace to the world will do for you.” Ross said, before continuing, “I should be locking you up, Miss Barton.” Ross retorted, resting his hands on the edge of the table, in an attempt to look menacing.

“Not before you’re tried for you war crimes and crimes against humanity.” Gitta shot back, “It’s surprising what you learn from being part of a defence organisation.” She said with a smile on her face.

“Okay. That's enough.” Steve intervened, guessing that Gitta was itching to pull a knife on the General. He had been quietly going through some of the files they had on current military leaders, and had known the name Ross sounded familiar. Ross had been responsible for much of Bruce’s anxiety and hiding. Gitta wouldn’t hesitate to slit his throat, just to rid Bruce of that problem if he ever came back.

“For the past four years, you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision.” He started with a sigh, folding his arms across his chest. “That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate. But I think we have a solution.” He added, picking up a thick document and setting it on the table in front of Wanda. “The Sokovia Accords. Approved by 117 countries... it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary.” He finished, as many of the Avenger’s rolled their eyes, at the suggestion.

“The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place, no matter their past. I feel we've done that.” Steve added, understanding how a lot of his team members were feeling.

“Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?” He asked, though his eyes strayed to Brigitta, “If I misplaced a couple of 30 megaton nukes... you can bet there'd be consequences. Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground.” He said, in an attempt to reassure the group.

“So, there are contingencies.” Rhodey said, flicking through the accords, nodding his head along with what the Secretary was saying.

“Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords.” Ross finished, tucking his hands back into his pockets, not noticing the glares that was being sent Tony’s way, “Talk it over.” He added, to make it look like they had options to change how it was worded.

“And if we come to a decision you don't like?” Nat asked, looking over at the General as he left the room.

“Then you retire.” He finished, not catching Nat trying to supress a smile.

“I’m going to need more coffee…” Gitta muttered, taking a deep breath in through her nose. “Tea is not going to cut this.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Secretary Ross has a Congressional Medal of Honour which is one more than you have.” Rhodey said, glaring at Sam, as Gitta massaged her temples.

“Can we please keep it down a little?” She muttered, trying to remain calm, with everything the way it currently was, she’d need to stay the night and help sort everything out. And that meant either getting Darcy to meet her with the twins or asking the Political Science student to stay the night.

“So let's say we agree to this thing. How long is it gonna be before they LoJack us like a bunch of common criminals?” Sam continued, changing his approach for Gitta.

“A 117 countries want to sign this. 117, Sam, and you're just like, ‘No, that's cool. We got it.’” Rhodey replied, trying to show his point in the argument. Steve was attempting to read through the accords, to see if they could amend even a few words.

“How long are you going to play both sides?” Sam shot, crossing his arms to look at the senior airman. Gitta was just finishing off a text to Darcy to meet her at the Starbucks in Ardsley, so that the twins could come and stay at the compound, as Steve slid the accords over, page open and a nail mark next to the first paragraph.

 _Registration and Regulation of Enhanced Individuals_.

Steve, amongst the confusion had found the paragraph that would cause her and the twins the most trouble, and was wanting to see how she reacted to it. A subtle shake of her head told him that she did not agree with what they were asking to do.

Quickly texting him the amendments that she would support.

 _Enhanced individuals will ONLY be required to provide their class and level according to Prof Xavier’s research, to the UN, no DNA. Also, retain rights to travel, not to be restrained. No tracking bracelets, and retain the 6 th amendment. I will not be signing this as it is. _She sent, getting a small nod from Steve as he read over her problems with just that passage.

“I have an equation.” Vision said from the couch he was sitting on with Wanda.

“Oh, this will clear it up.” Sam grumbled, turning his back to the Android.

“In the 8 years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially.” He began, “And during the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate.”

“Are you saying it's our fault?” Steve asked, raising an eyebrow at his team member.

“Vision, you come under the enhanced individuals clause too, you know that right?” Gitta added, hoping that he hadn’t fully read the document.

“I'm saying there may be a causality. Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict... breeds catastrophe. Oversight... Oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand.” Vision said, explaining his stance on the matter.

“Boom.” Rhodey muttered.

“But you’re missing the variables!” Gitta exclaimed, “Are you treating us as a control or an independent variable?” She asked, getting a few heads snap up. “Because we cannot control what every person in the world is doing, therefore not being able to account for their actions. We can only account for our own. We are the response for returning the changes in the dependant variables to normal.” She continued, quickly doing a quick estimate on how well the people in the room knew their science. Rhodey had an understanding of physics, as did Sam, Tony and Vision were the only ones that would truly get how she was playing with the science terms here, and both of them wanted to sign the accords. “We maintaining some semblance of order in this world is the dependant variable. Ross and all these other countries want to change the terms of the experiment by making us an independent variable. They want to change the hypothesis that this experiment was founded upon.” She added.

 “Doctor Barton, the point of conducting an experiment is to gain results.” Vision stated.

“What would you say if I told you that the Avengers were founded to see if an exceptional group of people could defend this planet from itself and then the rest of the universe if it came to it.” Gitta shot back, “I’ve been doing this a lot longer than you have Vision. Don’t try me.”

“Tony. You're being uncharacteristically non-hyperverbal.” Natasha noticed, seeing the billionaire resting his hand on his face, breathing deeply.

“It's because he's already made up his mind.” Steve muttered darkly.

“Boy, you know me so well.” Tony replied, getting up and heading to the kitchen, wincing as his feet hit the floor. “Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache. That's what's going on, Cap. It's just pain. It's discomfort.” He admitted, looking into the sink, sighing deeply when he saw what was there. “Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal? Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?”

“Like to think we have more manners than and biker gang.” Gitta muttered, getting the accords back and quickly flicking through to where the rest of the enhanced individual regulations were set down. Tony grabbed the Aspirin bottle and poured some coffee into one of the mugs, fiddling with his phone as he went. As soon as he set the phone down in the fruit bowl, a photo was projected above the screen. “Oh, that's Charles Spencer by the way. He's a great kid. Computer engineering degree, 3.6 GPA. Had a floor level gig at Intel planned for the fall.” Tony started, pointing at the picture. “But first, he wanted to put a few miles on his soul... before he parked it behind a desk. See the world. Maybe be of service. Charlie didn't want to go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale, which is what I would do. He didn't go to Paris or Amsterdam, which sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where?” He asked finally. As he got blank looks from everyone in the room, he finally told them, “Sokovia. He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. I mean, we won't know because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass.” He finished, taking a sip of the coffee and knocking the Aspirin back quickly. “There's no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check! Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations, if we're boundary-less, we're no better than the bad guys.”

“Tony, someone dies on your watch, you don't give up.” Steve said, looking over at Tony.

“Who said we're giving up?” Tony asked, looking shocked at the prospect.

“We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blames.” Steve said, pointing to the document Gitta was intently reading.

“I'm sorry. Steve. That... That is dangerously arrogant. This is the United Nations we're talking about. It's not the World Security Council, it's not SHIELD, it's not HYDRA.” Rhodey cut in, trying to make a point at the scale of agreement they were facing.

“No, but it's run by people with agendas and agendas change.” Steve replied, keeping a logical approach to the argument.

“For all we know, Ross wants to get control of us because he knows that I was in a relationship with Bruce.” Gitta said, “He doesn’t know about the twins, but if he did, then I’m sure he would sneak a clause in here so that he could get them away from me.” Gitta added, pointing down at the book. “The Secretary of State has been making Bruce’s life unbearable since the damn experiment.” She finished. “He is not someone you want to mess with.”  

“That's good. That's why I'm here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down and stop manufacturing.” Tony shot, his face betraying his anger.

“Tony, you chose to do that. If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose. What if this panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go? What if there is somewhere we need to go, and they don't let us? We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own.” Steve pushed, not impressed with how his team mate was acting to the Ultimatum that they had been given.

“If we don't do this now, it's gonna be done to us later. That's the fact. That won't be pretty.” Tony replied, sighing as he tried to yet again state his point, covering for the fact that other than the information that Ross had given him, he knew nothing about the plans laid out in the accords.

“You're saying they'll come for me.” Wanda said, looking up from where she was sitting with Vision.

“For all of us.” Gitta corrected, reminding the girl that there were plenty more enhanced individuals than her. The Sokovian was still wrapping her head around what had happened in Lagos and wasn’t taking into account the larger community out there.

“We would protect you.” Vision tried to reassure them both.

“My arse…” Gitta huffed, as Nat finally spoke up.

“Maybe Tony's right. If we have one hand on the wheel, we can still steer. If we take it off...” She tried to justify these accords rather than a later option.

“Aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?” Sam asked, not believing any of the bullshit that was coming out of the Russian’s mouth.

“I'm just... reading the terrain.” Nat replied, “Brigitta is to, just from the other side, we have made some very public mistakes. We need to win their trust back.” She added.

“Focus up. I'm sorry, did I just mishear you or did you agree with me?” Tony asked, looking astounded at what happened.

“Oh, I want to take it back now.” Nat replied shaking her head at her words. She wasn’t enhanced, but if she signed, she would still retain autonomy over most of her missions. The assassin would read more of the accords later.

“No, no, no. You can't retract it. Thank you. Unprecedented. Okay, case closed - I win.” Tony exclaimed, ending the discussion, as two vibrations sung out in the room.

“I’ll be back in half an hour, I need to pick the twins up.” Gitta said, “No way in hell am I letting them stay with Darcy when Ross knows that I’m not there.” She added, “Be back soon.”

“I have to go.” Steve muttered, getting up and leaving as quickly as he could.

 

* * *

 

 

“Thank you so much Darcy for looking after the twin terrors.” Gitta said, giving the younger woman a warm hug as she pulled into the Starbucks carpark.

“They weren’t too painful, I’ve dealt with worse.” Darcy smiled, as the twins got out, excited to see their mother.

“Mumma!” Louisa exclaimed flinging herself at her mother, knowing that she would be caught.

“Hey there Bluebird, were you good for Darcy?” Gitta asked, giving her younger twin a tight hug, feeling the tension from the day wash away as she saw her kids again.

“Yes!” Lou nodded, “We did finger painting and watched Disney!” She recounted, trying her best to not stumble over her words. Even though they were both still very young, they were already starting to put sentences together, though Jason was more reserved with his words. _Much like his father_. Brigitta thought as he rushed over, his dark curls untameable in the wet weather.

“Hey there little man, how are you?” Gitta asked, shifting Lou to one arm so that she could hug Jason like she had his sister.

“Good. We watched _Lilo and Stitch_ and then _Mary Poppins_!” He replied, burying his head into the crook of his mother’s neck. “Love you Mumma.” Jace whispered softly.

“I love the both of you too.” Gitta replied quickly, in an attempt to avoid an argument. “Want to go see Wanda and Sam?” She asked, pulling back slightly.

“YES!!” They both shouted, their excitement growing by the second.

“Well let’s get you both into the car, and then I’ll grab your bags from Darcy.” Gitta said, unlocking her car, “What do we say to Darcy?”

“Thank you Darcy!” The twins exclaimed, getting a smile from the younger woman.

“Get in the car, dumplings.” Darcy smiled, as Gitta expertly got them into their seats and buckled up in record time. “Want the bags in the back?” She called, carrying the small bags as well as the nappy bag.

“Love it, thanks Darce.” Gitta replied, fishing around the front seat for her wallet. “$300 was what we agreed on wasn’t it?” She asked, shutting the door slightly so that there was still airflow.

“Sounds about right, and if it wasn’t I know where you live.” Darcy replied, as she took the cash, a smile on her face.

“Ok, thank you Darcy.” Gitta replied, hugging the woman, “You don’t know how much that helped me today.” She added.

“It’s all good, and it was relatively easy looking after them.” Darcy shrugged, “You’re doing an amazing job with them.” She added with a smile.

“I’ll see you later.” Gitta said, “These two will be wanting dinner as soon as we get to the compound.” She added with a laugh.

“I wish you the best of luck getting the dumplings there.” Darcy smiled, heading back to her own car.

“Knowing my luck, I’ll need it.” Gitta laughed, climbing into the driver’s seat. “Ok, are we singing along to _Mulan_ or _Frozen_?” She asked, connecting her phone to the speakers.

“ _MULAN_!!” Came the enthusiastic shout from the back seat.  



	11. Venetian Hell

“Pigeon, you flying out to London?” Tony asked, after hearing the news from Steve.

“As much as I’d like to, I can’t.” Gitta said, “And there is no way I’m letting you get passports for these two.” She added, running her hand through Jace’s hair, and attempting to detach the child from her clothes so that she could get him to get to bed. Louisa had simply snuggled herself next to Sam. “Sam, can you grab Lou?” She asked, picking up the elder twin.

“Sure thing.” Sam smiled, picking up the child and holding her securely. “Time to get you to bed, kiddo.” He said, following Gitta to her quarters. “You know, despite what everyone is saying, you’re doing a really good job of raising these two tykes.”

“Not like I had much of a choice.” Gitta said, as Sam fell into step with her. “Once I decided to have them, I had to figure out how to raise them.” She added, “But with these accords, which I don’t doubt will pass, I’ll have to retire, just to protect them.” She finished.

“Hey, if you do have to retire, you have a job.” Sam said, “It pays well, you have a house and a family.” He added, “And if it doesn’t, maybe do a few off the book jobs, or wire some money into your account, which I don’t doubt you can do.” He added, as they walked upstairs, heading to the private wing.

“Even if I retire, with the accords as they are, I’m stuck in stateside unless a committee can unanimously approve my travel plans, and knowing my record, they won’t.” Gitta said, turning left and strolling along, bouncing Jason on her hip and adjusting her grip on him. “Then these two, just because they have my last name publicly, and their father’s genetics and then mine, as soon as Ross puts two and two together, they are going to be public enemy number one.” She finished, as they reached the door to her two rooms.

“And as soon as that happens you know you’re going to go underground and we’re not going to see you until Ross backs off.” Sam replied, “We know that you’ve done it before. Clint was saying that he didn’t see you once for the better part of two years.” He added. “And we’d do our best to protect you and the kids.”

“Thanks Sam.” Gitta smiled, opening the door to the twins’ room and ushering Sam in. “And thank you for being there for the twins.” She added. Some of the other Avengers had stepped in to fill a fatherly role for the twins, though they were all tentative about stepping into Bruce’s role. Sam, however, had no qualms about throwing himself in as reinforcement to Brigitta. It was something that she was grateful for, especially when Tony or Steve were a little hesitant with her children. Sam had no problems creating Play-Doh creations with them, or racing Hot Wheels cars over the flat surfaces that seemed to be all over the compound.

“You need the help every so often, and I’m happy to help you out when I can.” Sam replied as he set Louisa down on her bed, tucking her in as he stood up. “I have nieces and nephews, and these two need a male role model in their life, other than Clint, so I’m more than happy to step in if you need a break.” He finished, as Gitta set Jason down, brushing his curls off his forehead.

“And that is something that I can never thank you enough for.” Gitta replied as she turned the night light on, and following Sam out of the room, leaving the door slightly ajar.

“It’s cool.” Sam said, as Gitta grabbed one of her books to read for the rest of the evening.  “ _Da Vinci Code_ , that’s not an easy read.” He mused.

“Well, it was this or _War and Peace_ , and I wasn’t in the mood to deal with Tolstoy.” Gitta replied, grabbing her glasses before she left her quarters. “You probably better get packing, I know that Tony’s lending Steve a jet to get over to the UK for the funeral.” She added.

“Yeah, I’ve already told him that I’m going to join.” Sam nodded, “You should come as well.” He added.

“I would, but the twins take precedence. It’s something that Peggy would understand and respect.” Gitta replied, “Lay some pansy’s for me, will you?”

“You’ll have to tell me the story behind that some time.” Sam nodded as they split ways in the hall, Sam heading for his quarters and Gitta for the kitchen area, ready for a tea and a good amount of reading. Even if was just to take her mind off the ultimatum that been set down in front of her that day. Gitta had had a better look over it that evening, as the twins were having dinner, and had found a few hidden surprises in it. Nearly all of them relating to mutants or enhanced persons. And more importantly, clauses that give Ross the jurisdiction to hunt down any enhanced, inhuman or mutant that refused to sign or submit to the Accords. Personally, Gitta could think of at least twenty people that would be affected by that, and she didn’t even make that list.

There’d be no way that she’d be allowed to ask for amendments, considering that the Accords had been distributed to the UN already, and they had already been agreed on. Maybe in a couple of years, if she could keep her’s and the twin’s heads down for that long.

“So, you’re not going to try and fight it?” Asked Nat, as she walked into the kitchen, dropping her bag by the door.

“Can’t really do much, Nat.” Gitta replied, as the kettle flicked off telling Gitta that her water had boiled, “Not that it’d change their minds. Albatross is too well known for being a ruthless assassin that has ignored boarders all of her life.” She explained, pouring the boiling water into the cup, breathing deeply. “And if I leave, there’s the chance that I could lose the twins to Ross if I leave, and won’t be allowed back into the country.” Gitta added, “There’s a clause that says as soon as they’re passed, all sections come into full effect. If you are caught out away from home, then you’re stuck.” She explained, “Which you would know if you read the entirety of the Accords.” She added.

“Kittyhawk, you know exactly why I’m on side with the Accords.” Nat replied, her tone warning the older woman not to push it too far.

“I know, we need to win back the public’s trust.” Gitta said, picking up her cup and heading for the lounge. “I just can’t let anything like that happen.”

“And I totally understand that.” Nat said, following her friend, “But if we agree, we could possibly get them to agree to change some of the sections at a later date.”

“That I can get behind, but this is being rushed through.” Gitta said, “If we rashly try to get these through, then it means that we accept lower standards that are forced on us.” She added, settling down on the couch, setting her tea on the coffee table next to it. “We are elite assassins, Nat, and they’re trying to limit what we do, make us into their lapdogs. And I’m not going to stand for that.”

“I tried…” Nat muttered wandering out of the room.

 

* * *

 

 

As soon as it hit 10am, Gitta had the twins dressed and occupied with colouring in books and crayons.

“Is it on yet?” Wanda asked, as she walked into the lounge, Vision following close behind.

“Coverage is just starting.” Gitta replied, as Jason toddled up and handed his mother a drawing, “Thank you Jace this is awesome.” She smiled, as the older twin pulled himself up onto the couch next to his mother, as his sister continued her drawing.

“Is Aunty Nat there?” Jace asked, pointing at the UN buildings.

“Yeah, she’s there.” Gitta replied, sliding her arm up along his spine, and running her hand through his hair.

“Did you fight?” Louisa called, turning around from her drawing.

“We had a disagreement that we couldn’t compromise on.” Gitta replied, trying to avoid having to explain what had happened between the Avengers to the toddlers.

“Your mother believes that the Avengers should be allowed to continue to function as they always have, as well as freedom for people like herself, Wanda and many others that are enhanced, mutants or inhuman DNA. And she is wrong.” Vision stated, getting a blank look from the child and a very unimpressed look from the mother.

“Sure Vision, go ahead and undermine my relationship with my kids,” Gitta replied, “Go ahead and state outright that I’m wrong.” She added.

“You have expressed your opinion, which has been acknowledged,” Vision replied, “And it is wrong.”

“Lord give me strength.” Gitta muttered, “Vision, I have expressed my view on this, however, I have not once said that your view is wrong, only that I do not agree with it, because of how it will affect life for me and plenty of others.”

“So you don’t like what’s happening on the TV?” Louisa said, looking confused at the situation.

“Sweetie, mummy’s very against what’s happening on the TV.” Gitta said, noticing that Jason was attempting to hide himself away from Vision. The android, in all his wisdom, had not been informed that Jason was similar to his father in more ways than just his looks.

“Vis, why don’t we get some drinks.” Wanda said, noting how her adoptive brother was reacting.

“Of course.” Vision replied, following the girl out of the room, and over to the kitchen on the other side of the compound. Gitta smiled a thank you to Wanda for getting Vision out of the room.

“Ok, Lou,” Gitta said, getting her daughter’s attention, “Get over here.” She added, patting the couch on her other side. Lou quickly set her crayons down and toddled over, before pulling herself up onto the couch, Gitta helping her to swing her legs up.

“I’m here.” Louisa smiled, before it dropped when she saw her brother. Pulling herself back up, Lou made her way over her mother’s lap, and climbed down next to her brother. Giving him a warm hug.

“We settled now, Bluebird?” Gitta asked, waiting for a nod from the younger twin. “Ok, so, what is happening in Vienna right now, is something that mummy doesn’t agree with. And I don’t agree with what’s happening because it means that the governments of the world have the power to stop me from travelling, and being a hero-”

“-Like unca Clint?” Lou asked, still hugging her brother.

“Yes, like you uncle Clint.” Gitta replied, “And they want everyone like me, and anyone with powers like us, to be registered, and basically lose our rights.” She explained, “I don’t want that to happen, so I’m trying to fight it. But there is only so much I can actually do. I have a very bad record. I didn’t used to be a hero, and I don’t consider myself to be one now. But I don’t want to have both of you to grow up with the governments breathing down your neck and stopping you from doing what you want.”

“So why aren’t you there?” Jason asked quietly.

“Because a lot of countries have already agreed to accept the new rules. I’ve read them, and they say that as soon as they are passed they are in full effect.” Gitta explained, “So if I was over there, I wouldn’t be able to get back to you two. Which would give a very nasty man the chance to kidnap you. And he’d do horrible things to you.” She added, trying not to scare him, though he still paled. “And this man tried to do the same things to your father.” She added. “And he wouldn’t hesitate to do the same to me.” She explained.

“Why doesn’t he have rules?” Jason said, looking up at his mother.

“Because he is apparently above them.” Brigitta replied, “And he’s also part of the reason why I don’t tell anyone about you two, other than what is available to the public.”

“So they don’t know about the blue?” Louisa asked, burrowing her head into Jason’s neck.

“And the green?” He added.

“Yes, and that’s why I also tell you not to tell anyone.” Gitta explained, “And this is what they’re discussing in Vienna.” She finished.

“And everyone fought over it?” Jason asked, his eyes showing the same anger that his mother was feeling.

“Yes sweetie,” Gitta said, noting the green around the tips of his fingers, “Lots of people have opinions on a lot of topics that aren’t relevant to them.” She explained, “Like anything to do with women, and now this.”

“So they’re taking away you rights?” Lou asked, looking over her brother’s head.

“In the most basic sense, yes.” Gitta replied.

“Oh, ok.” Lou nodded, “I won’t like these rules either then.” She declared.

“Yeah, bad men.” Jason agreed, just as Wanda and Vision returned.

“Have they taken their seats yet?” Wanda asked, setting some sippy cups of water down on the table near the twins, and her own glass next to it.

“They should be taking them now.” Gitta replied, noting that there was starting to be movement in the UN Chamber, just as a speaker crackled to life.

“ _If everyone could please be seated. This assembly is now in session._ ”

“I like the live cameras in the chamber, especially for this.” Wanda said, leaning back on the couch.

“There’s Nat.” Gitta said, spotting the red head as she walked in front of the camera.

“You they’re going to get them through?” Wanda asked quietly.

“Without a doubt, if you can get 117 countries to agree to it, then they’ll pass.” Gitta muttered darkly.

“ _King T’Chaka will now address the assembly._ ” The TV anchor said, as the Wakandan King stood up and moved towards the central podium, greeted the assembly.

“ _When stolen Wakandan vibranium was used to make a terrible weapon, we in Wakanda were forced to question our legacy. Those men and women killed in Nigeria, were part of a goodwill mission from a country too long in the shadows. We will not, however, let misfortune drive us back. We will fight to improve the world we wish to join. I am grateful to the Avengers for supporting this initiative. Wakanda is proud to extend its hand in peace._ ” He said, as his son, T’Challa, quickly turned away from the window, fear evident on his face.

“Something’s happening…” Gitta muttered, sharing a look with Wanda.

“Nothing good.” The Sokovian replied, leaning forward in interest.

“ _EVERYBODY GET DOWN!_ ” The Wakandan Prince yelled, trying to run over to cover his father. Gitta quickly reached around to the twins, trying her hardest to cover their eyes. As T’Challa was halfway to his father, an explosion went off outside, possibly one of the news vans, had exploded.

“Shit.” Gitta exclaimed, watching what was unfolding in Vienna.

“This is not good…” Wanda muttered, watching as the vision from inside the room cut, and cut to the station’s State-side studio.

“Mumma?” Jason asked, worry in his voice, “What happened?”

“There was a boom.” Louisa said, the same tone in her voice. As much as she wanted to, Gitta knew that it wouldn’t take long for the twins to figure out what happened.

“C’mon, let’s head outside for a bit, Mummy will explain what happened to you later, okay Bluebird?” Gitta said, slipping into damage control mode. She’d been watching their neighbour’s kid, Kate, back in 2001, and had had to explain a situation like this before. It was not something that she wanted to repeat so soon.

“Can we slide down the roof?” Jason asked, as Wanda quietly clicked the TV off, so that Gitta could move the twins.

“Yes, we can slide down the roof.” Gitta replied breathlessly, picking up both children in a well-practiced manoeuvre. “I’ll even find some cardboard boxes.” She added, giving both twins a strained smile, as they left the room.

“I assume that the Accords will have been passed by necessity.” Vision said, reclining against the back of the couch.

“That is what I didn’t want to happen.” Wanda replied, “And it is going to cause problems for Gitta as well.” She added.

“I’m sure that Mr Stark will petition for amendments to be made so that the team gets the best out of it.” Vision said, though it was more for courtesy than actual belief that there would be changes made.

“Or Brigitta retires and goes rogue.” Wanda said, a small smile on her face. If there was one thing that her ‘adoptive’ mother was bound to do with this, it was to go back to her old roots as an A-Grade Assassin. Not only for the money, but to take out some of the people that would be coming after the enhanced individuals.


	12. Barton Family Superhero Recruitment Agency

“Right, I’m going to take the two munchkins home, see what damage control I can do from there.” Gitta said, walking into the main area of the compound, her bags hung over her shoulders. From the looks and smells of the kitchen, Wanda and Vision were trying to cook something, though it was probably Wanda trying to make the creation recognisable to her tastebuds.

“Do you think it is wise to leave the compound after what has just taken place in Vienna?” Vision asked, standing up from the counter stool, as if he was trying to make himself look more imposing.

“Yes, because I have twins that want nothing more than to go home and play with their own toys.” Gitta replied, standing her ground. And Vision wanting to stop her from going only cemented her will to leave. Vision was like JARVIS in many ways, one being still linked to FRIDAY, and by extension, Tony. That in itself meant that Tony didn’t want them leaving, to try to protect them. Wanda was already in a bad place of mind, so Gitta wasn’t going to take her away from the countryside and back into the city, though the option was open for her.

“However, in light of recent events, the safest place is here.” Vision stated, his tone leaving minimal room for argument.

“Is that why Hank Pym’s guy was able to break in here a few weeks after I left for maternity leave?” Gitta asked, a trademark smirk appearing across her face, “Hell, even over the past day or so, I’ve found that many gaps in the security that shouldn’t be there if you want to claim this joint is the safest place to be.” She finished. Though she didn’t mean it, she found herself sounding more and more like Barney after the three Barton’s had left the circus.

Her eldest brother would find the week spots that they could all exploit. Something that she and Clint had picked up on before Barney was locked up. And something that had helped them on numerous S.H.I.E.L.D missions since.

“How did you find out about that?” Vision asked, a look of confusion appearing on his face.

“Trust me, you never put aside your origins or contacts.” Gitta replied, looking at him, “I’ll see you both later, and Wanda, if you want or need to come home, call me and I’ll come and get you.” She finished, hitching her bag up over her shoulders. She didn’t have to go through the kitchen area again to get to the car, and her twins were already down there. Vision wouldn’t be able to get them from underneath her. She would make sure of that.

“Mumma, why we going?” Jace asked, tilting his head to the side.

“Remember Uncle Clint said that there was a family trip to the beach this weekend?” Gitta said, throwing the bags into the boot of the car, “Well, I thought that we might tag along, go see your cousins for a bit.” She added. In reality, other than that, Gitta was getting ready to disappear again, and misleading Tony to her location was the first step. The night the bomb went off in Vienna, she had messaged Clint to say what her plan of action was. And he’d agreed.

If their world had changed this much, then Gitta and the twins needed to disappear for a bit. And there was not better place to disappear to than the middle of nowhere in Iowa.

“Ok.” Jace said, as Gitta set him down in his car seat and began buckling him in.

“I play with Lucky?” Lou asked, her eyes brightening as she realised what visiting their cousins would mean. Pats and licks from Lucky.

“Yes, after he helps your uncle do his chores, then yes, he is yours to play with.” She added, standing up out of the car to grab her daughter and buckle her up as well.

“Yay!” Louisa smiled, barely able to keep her excitement contained, and the very edge of her iris’s starting to turn blue.

“Calm down sweetie.” Gitta said, spotting the colour as it appeared, “I don’t want to buy a new car anytime soon.” She said softly, as she kissed her daughter’s hair.

“Opps.” Louisa smiled sheepishly, as she realised what her mother had said.

“Ready to go?” Gitta asked, getting into the front seat of the car, Clint had just texted back that he was going to meet them in Cleveland with an old Quinjet he had repurposed years ago, so that it would be easier to fly them to Waverly. Their next plan of action was to wait for Cap’s call.

 

* * *

 

 

Seven hours later, Gitta pulled the car up to the empty field and spotted Clint landing the Quinjet a short ways away from her in stealth mode.

“About time you got here.” She smiled, stepping out of the car and over to her brother.

“Yeah, well, I had to find an excuse to get to this thing.” Clint shrugged, as he met her halfway, pulling her into a hug as he reached her. “How are my niece and nephew?” He asked.

“Asleep finally.” Gitta sighed, “I mean, we only got part of the way through the _Lilo and Stitch_ soundtrack, after we did _Frozen_ , _Spirit_ and _Oliver and Company_.” She smiled, getting Clint to laugh at the music she had had to listen to.

“Hope you threw in a bit of _Mary Poppins_ and _Treasure Planet_ too!” He added, as he slung his arm around his sister, heading back to the car to drive it into the Jet. How Gitta and Clint had managed to get this ancient jet out from underneath Fury, Hill and Coulson’s joint nose was one of the few things in life they didn’t question. This model hadn’t really been used since the earlier days of Fury’s directorship, where they had had to transport vehicles with them. Now, the jets were more often than not used for drops and pickups, putting the older cargo jets out of use. “You right to load up?” Clint asked.

“Done it once, done it a thousand times.” Gitta smiled, “Question is if you can still fly it home.”

“I flew it here didn’t I?” Clint countered, as they split up to load the car. It was slow going, but the fact that Gitta could take her car with her, would save them problems in the future. Once the car was loaded, and the twins, still in their car seats, were strapped into the personnel seats behind Clint and Gitta, they took off, heading for their family farmhouse.

“So, how’s everyone been since I last saw them?” Gitta asked, settling down in the co-pilot’s seat, complete with custom covers and a drink holder.

“Well, Coop’s doing well at school, surprisingly, though Lila wanted to go and join the circus for a bit.” Her brother recounted for her. The look on his face told her everything she needed to know about that event.

“I take it you took her behind the scenes of one to show her what it’s actually like?” Gitta asked, concern etched on her face.

“Yep, so we agreed on gymnastics as a compromise.” Clint replied, his smile returning. “And Nate currently loves playing with Stark and Tony.” He added, “Lars took photos of him in the chicken coop with those two on his lap.”

“I need to see these.” Gitta laughed, “And how are my other hens?” She asked. After they defeated Ultron and the New Avengers began their training, Clint had to buy more hens, giving them the names of the new people on the roster.

“Well, unfortunately, a couple of them died when a fox broke in. Falc-hen, Red Hen and Sightless to be exact.” He admitted, “And the markets haven’t happened since, so I haven’t been able to replace them.”

“Well, that’s life isn’t it.” Gitta sighed, as they passed out of Ohioan airspace and into Michigan’s. “Heard anything from him?” She asked, keeping her voice low so that they wouldn’t wake the twins.

“Got a letter a few weeks back, been meaning to send it on to you, but didn’t think anything would be safe enough to get it there.” Clint admitted, “But he says that Ross’s been up to something major, and that he’s been there a lot more lately.” He explained. “Reckons that he may’ve found something on Bruce.”

“Can’t’ve. I would’ve found it before him.” Gitta replied, shaking her head. “I’ve had everything I can looking for him for the better part of a few years, and nothing has come up, except the vague shape of the Quinjet in the ocean, which turned out to be a rock formation.” She added.

“Well, Barney reckons that something’s about to happen there, whether it’s Bruce or something else, he doesn’t know, but they’ve got a cell ready to hold something massive.” Clint explained, “Other than that, love to all of us, because he doesn’t know if we’ve had families or not, and that hopefully he gets parole soon.”

“All with atrocious spelling mistakes, I gather?” Gitta asked, looking at her older brother.

“You can bet your car on it.” He smiled back at her as they crossed over into Illinois.

“I’d rather bet you on it.” Gitta smirked, giving her brother a soft punch on his arm.

“And for that, you can get out.” Clint said, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at the cargo door.

“I’ll do that when we land.” She added, “So whereabouts are you thinking of taking everyone water-skiing?”

“Up the river, probably near Green Belt for a few days, take them camping too.” He admitted, “It’s not too hot yet, so may as well before school goes back for last term.”

“And by too hot, you mean the snow is starting to turn mushy?” Gitta asked.

“We didn’t get much of a snowfall this year, so whatever we got’s been long gone, Black Hawk.” Clint smiled.

“A year without snow? What is this?” Gitta said, semi shocked, though it did explain Clint mostly wearing his flannels outside rather than being all rugged up.

“Evidently global warming.” Clint said, as they lapsed into comfortable silence. It wasn’t until later that he spoke up again. “How many weak points does the compound have?”

“Plenty. Best one? Forest fire.” Gitta said, keeping her analysis short and to the point.

“Well, that’s how’ll I’ll get in.” Clint said, “And while I’m doing that, I might get you to grab someone else.”

“Cap already called you?” Gitta asked, looking up from her controls.

“Not yet, but it can’t be too far off.” Clint reasoned, “They weren’t too far from finding Barnes when you left, so they’ve bound to have found him by now.” He explained.

“Great. Who’s the other guy?” Gitta asked, looking sideways at her brother.

“Same guy that broke into the compound after you left. Scott Lang, I think Sam was telling me.” Clint shrugged, “I’ve got his file in the office at home.”

“Cool. But the real question is, how are we going to get over there?” Gitta asked, “There’s nowhere nearly enough room in this thing to get us there, plus gear.

“I was actually thinking we do exactly that.” Clint shrugged.

“Not good enough. We’ll fly there commercially, under fake names and stuff.” Gitta said.

“Ohh, this is why you came up with the entries.” Clint said, a smile appearing on his face.

“This is why I’m the smart one.” Gitta countered, as Clint started taking them down, out of the commercial flight paths and into the small, domestic planes height, engaging the lower reflectors as they went. They were probably five minutes from landing on the farm, and the twins had just started stirring.

“Yeah, I know.” Clint sighed, “I’m doing night classes online.” He added, “Still can’t algebra to save my life.” He said.

“Clint, it’s a massive thing to want to get your high school diploma, and I told you when you started that I would support you all the way through it.” Gitta replied, “And we both know you were doing the Trig unit work in your head.” She added, “And I couldn’t be prouder that you decided to go back and finish it.” She finished, clapping her brother’s shoulder as he started the descent to where they hid the quinjet.

“Well, Coop’s going to be a high schooler in a few years, and Laura’s going to need all the help she can get with the younger two, so knowing that I have some skill in that area would help her out heaps.” Clint admitted, landing the jet in the woods. He and Gitta made short work of the post flight checks, and had backed her car out before the twins had really woken up.

“Where’re we?” Lou said, rubbing her eyes as her mum carried her and Jace out of the jet.

“We’re at the farm, remember I told you that we were going to go see Uncle Clint?” Gitta replied kissing her daughter’s head, while trying to balance a still firmly asleep Jace against her other hip. Clint had offered to take one, but they both had decided against it, purely because the twins weren’t as familiar with their uncle taking care of them yet. Clint though, was carrying their bags for them.

“Is Uncle Clint here?” She asked, suddenly a bit more alert.

“You bet I am!” Clint called just ahead of his sister.

“Uncle Clint!” Lou smiled, looking like a mirror image of her mother at that age. “Where’s Lucky?”

“Probably still asleep, but I’ll tell him you’re here.” Clint replied, smiling back at his niece.

“Has he been a good dog?”

“The very best.” Clint said, though the tone of his voice told his sister their dog had been anything but. “And you can play with him as soon as I finish up my chores.”

“Ok.” Lou said, snuggling back against her mother’s jacket.

 

* * *

 

 

It was a few hours later that Clint finally got the call from Cap. He, Bucky and Sam had managed to escape from the FBI’s HQ in Berlin, somehow managed to get their gear back, and were heading for Leipzig/Halle airport, in Germany, and to meet them there. Gitta was apprehensive about seeing Barnes again after he tried to kill her when she was younger. And judging from what Steve had said in the message, he still had the HYDRA programming in his brain. There was the possibility that if he saw her, that programming could kick in and cause him to go Winter Soldier on her. That would be interesting.

“Are you really going to go?” Laura asked, a shocked look on her face as she watched the two assassins in her family quickly mobilise to grab not only their weapons, but also gear and clothes to wear. “You in particular Gitta!” She added, as she stood in the middle of the hallway, looking between the master bedroom, and Gitta’s room.

“Lars, this is going to affect me more than anyone else. I have to go and stop this. If not for me than for the twins.” Gitta replied, reaching behind her wardrobe and pulling out her secondary bow. She had a feeling that there was potential for them to be arrested, and she didn’t want her normal bow being destroyed. This bow wasn’t like her other, in the way that it was more like Clint’s standard bow, but without the ability to be shrunk down.

“That I can understand, and if what you’ve told me about Ross is true, I’d be getting my bow out as well.” Laura said, as Clint exited the master bedroom, his bag and kit slung over his back. “Both of you stay safe, and come back.” She ordered, as Gitta zipped her own bag shut.

“We’ll come back, don’t worry.” Clint said, giving his wife a chaste kiss on her cheek, “Safe, well, we won’t make any promises.” He added, trying to remain diplomatic at ignoring his wife’s concerns.

“I know you can’t, but get back for the kids.” Laura pleaded.

“10-4.” Gitta replied, giving her sister-in-law a quick hug, before making her way downstairs to where the kids were.

“I thought we were going to go water-skiing as a family.” Cooper said, arms crossed and looking sullen. If they had gone, this would’ve been the first time that Clint and Laura let him get on the wakeboard behind the rented boat, rather than the donut.

“We will, when your Dad and I get back.” Gitta said, setting her bag down, and turning to face all five children sitting on the couches in the living room. “Trust me when I say that we’re doing this for all of you.” She added, as Clint started clomping down the stairs too.

“Yeah, otherwise we might be locked up for doing the right thing.” He agreed, “Governments man.” He finished, shaking his head.

“But why?” Lila asked, looking mildly concerned.

“Do you like your Aunty Gitta, Lils?” Clint asked, wrapping an arm around his little sister, waiting for his daughter’s nod, “And you all like what she can do with her mind?” More nodding from Clint’s kids, “And you know that your cousins do similar stuff too?” It took Nathaniel a little longer to figure out what his father was talking about, but he too was nodding along with his older siblings, “Well, to put it simply, there’s one man that wants to get all three of them to do bad things to them. And Gitta and I don’t want that to happen.”

“I can understand that.” Cooper said, knowing that even though his Aunt had vast amounts of control over her power, there would always be people that wanted her, and people like her gone. “But when you come home, we’ll go right?” He added, trying to get his father to agree.

“Of course we will.” Clint said, clapping his eldest’s shoulder before he gave the younger of his children quick kisses. Gitta had stepped forward to give the twins a quick goodbye, as well as saying that she’d be back before they knew it.

“Let’s go, Hawkeye.” Gitta said, stepping away from the twins, and grabbing her bags. Unbeknownst to Laura, both of the assassins had contacted Kate Bishop to ask her to keep an eye on the family, without letting them know that she was. The girl was more than happy to agree when she heard the reason for them leaving.

“Sure thing Albatross.” Clint replied, slinging his bags over his shoulders and giving a two fingered salute to the family as they left the farmhouse and headed for the Quinjet.

 

* * *

 

 

Once they were in the sky, and had the course set in for San Francisco, Gitta turned to face her brother, “Give me info of this Lang guy.” She said, as Clint set the auto-pilot to take over.

“Files say that he was in prison for a bit, corporate sabotage, DUI and dangerous driving, occasioning damage to property.” Clint started, passing Gitta the dossier. “Did three of the five years, and got out on good behaviour when you came off the active roster, and went on maternity leave.” He added, giving her an idea of how long this guy had been active.

“You told me he had been working for Hank Pym, true?” She asked, flicking through the file, ingraining Scott Lang’s face into her memory.

“Yeah, Pym took him on as the next Ant-Man. Trained him up and everything.” Clint replied, taking a breath before he continued to elaborate, “And Sam said that he was able to get into the compound only a few weeks after Pym took him on. The suit, from what I understand, gives him the ability to shrink down to about the size of an ant or Tic-Tac. And something about making him superstrong when he’s small too.” Clint added.

“Like an ant.” Gitta muttered, looking through the rough specs of Pym’s suit. “Pretty good too.” She added, looking at what Pym and Lang had done with Darren Cross only a few years prior.

“Yeah, took down Sam with little more than a few punches.” Clint said, as he continued with the story.

“Glad that I wasn’t there to take him on.” Gitta said, closing the dossier, and looking at Clint, “I take that it goes without saying that we’re also busting Wanda out of the compound?” She asked.

“Already ahead of the game, Black Hawk.” Clint said, a smile on his face as the autopilot beeped that they were almost at their destination. Retaking control, Clint managed to find an inconspicuous spot to land, letting Gitta out briefly beforehand so that she could find a car for them to borrow for a few minutes. His sister, thankfully had gone for the most inconspicuous car on the street, an older Ford model, that was a decade out of date.

“Like the wheels?” She asked, giving her a brother a smile when she picked him up after he landed the Quinjet.

“Very you.” He replied, shaking his head as he climbed in, rolling down his shirt sleeves, as well as buttoning down his flannel shirt so that he wasn’t showing off the black tee he usually wore under his uniform. Gitta, however, was still to change into her own gear too, still wearing the comfortable clothes that she would wear around the farm. Her jeans were a little too worn to be called vintage, and her own top, one that she had bought at Hot Topic years ago, coupled with her hoodie made her seem like any other member of the general population still mourning the breakup of MCR.

“Reckon he’d be home right now?” Gitta asked, as she navigated the narrow and hilly terrain of San Francisco.

“It’s 6pm here, so he should be.” Clint said, “Otherwise, we’re going to do a bit of hacking.” He added, as Gitta pulled up outside a set of apartments.

“I wish we could pay him for this.” Gitta said, taking in the older facade of the apartment, similar to the old apartment they used to live in in Brooklyn.

“I know how you feel.” Clint said, echoing her thought. “He probably doesn’t even know about the accords.”

“He’s about to.” Gitta said, putting the car into park, and taking the wires she had used to start the car apart, before she got out, and walked up to the front door. As she buzzed the right apartment, the wasn’t surprised to find that Lang was in a flat share.

“Yeah, hello?” Came a voice from the other end of the intercom.

“Hi, is Scott in?” Gitta asked, “I’ve just got some stuff from Pym for him to sign.” She added, hoping that they bought her lie.

“Sure thing, come on up.” The voice finished, as the door was buzzed open for her. Making her way up the stairs, Gitta was greeted by Scott Lang himself outside the apartment.

“Ok, I know that I don’t have to sign anything for Hank, so what are you really here for?” He asked, crossing his arms as he stood in front of the door. His flatmate must’ve told him that she was coming up.

“Mr Lang, my name’s Brigitta Barton, I’m with the Avenger’s.” She started, modifying the old spiel she used to give potential recruits. “Have you seen the news in the past 24 hours?” She asked, taking a deep breath.

“What about these Accords because you Avengers couldn’t manage PR properly? Yeah I’ve seen them.” Scott said, a scoff in his voice. “What about them?”

“Mr Lang, the accords are going to apply to anyone that has access to a suit, powers or training.” Gitta said, dropping her voice slightly so that his neighbours wouldn’t be able to hear them talking. “Which if I remember correctly, you fit into two of those categories.” She added.

“Can’t force me to comply if they don’t know about me.” He replied, rolling his eyes.

“It could also mean you lose your rights and self-autonomy.” Gitta said, remembering that he had a child from his file. “Any travel plans have to be approved by the government, tracking bracelets the works.” She added, seeing a look of shock pass over his face. “Yeah, that was my reaction.” She muttered, a small smile passing over her face. “Captain America put Hawkeye and myself in charge of recruiting a few people that would be willing to go to Germany to stop Tony Stark and Secretary Ross from putting these accords in place and screwing everything up.” She added.

“Captain America asked you to get me?!” He added, his anger dropping in a split-second, replaced with childish excitement.

“Yes, and Falcon was the one that suggested your set of skills.” She added.

“Let me get my stuff.” Scott said, becoming slightly more serious as he realised the stakes, “Wait here.” He added, dashing back into the apartment, grabbing his gear as well as a few other tricks to help them out.

Gitta sent a quick message to Clint telling him to start the car again, and that they were successful. Scott soon returned, quite literally finishing zipping his bag up as he stepped out the door.

“So whereabouts we going now?” He asked, throwing a cap on his head.

“First of all, I believe you know the Compound quite well.” She said, as she led him back down the stairs.

“Need me to break in again?” He asked, looking mildly confused.

“No, Clint and I both have codes to get in. We need you to help me cause a diversion for Clint.” She replied, opening the building’s door for Scott to walk outside. “Then it’s a trip to Germany.”

“Right, ok…” Scott said, looking slightly worried at that prospect.

“It’ll be fine.” Gitta said, trying to reassure herself as much as Lang. “This is our ride.” She added, opening the back door for Scott to get in. “Clint meet Scott, Scott this is Hawkeye.” She said, as she climbed into the passenger’s side door.

“Nice to meet you, Hawkeye, and thank you for thinking that I was worth asking.” Scott said, shaking Clint’s hand.

“Name’s Clint Barton, Lang.” Clint replied, as he managed to get back into the flow of traffic, heading back to where they had found the car. “And it wasn’t me that suggested you, Tic-Tac.” He added.

“Both of you are Barton’s?” Scott asked, having remembered how Brigitta had introduced herself to him only a few minutes earlier. “Married?” He risked, not knowing how these two agents worked.

“Siblings.” Gitta replied, “Our S.H.I.E.L.D files should have said that.” She added.

“Never looked into them, none of them concerned me.” Scott admitted, as Clint returned the car to where they had found it, a nod to Gitta letting her know to fix it up like they had never borrowed it.

“Well, there’ll be one now.” Clint said, as he and Scott got out of the car, and began walking to the hidden Quinjet. Gitta worked quickly to return the wires to where they belonged, before she got out, using her powers to lock the car from the outside. Her brother hadn’t walked too far ahead of her by the time she had finished, and a short jog later Gitta was caught up with them.

 

* * *

 

The flight to the Compound was a slightly longer one, though it allowed Clint and Gitta the time to brief Scott on what was happening, as well as make a plan with how he and Gitta were going to set off a diversion big enough for Clint to sneak into the compound. It was decided that Scott was going to stay in the Quinjet, while Gitta snuck around the perimeter, setting off a chain of explosions to draw Vision out from the compound, but far enough away from the hidden jet so that the Android wouldn’t find it, or either assassin.

Having selected a few trick arrows, specifically designed with a timer to explode trees like in a Michael Bay film, Gitta and Clint snuck out of the jet. There were a few trees that Gitta selected almost a mile away from the jet, and sighted her targets. Clint knew that he had a few seconds to get Wanda out of the compound before Vision came back, and those seconds were most likely going to be used to convince Wanda to come. “Ready.” Gitta whispered over her comm.

“Moving into position.” Clint replied, getting ready to run up to where Wanda was standing in the main room. “Head back to the jet, and detonate.” Clint said, having opened the door into the main area.

“Copy.” Gitta muttered, already on her way back, before she triggered the detonator. The explosion itself was definitely something to behold, though she was already a great distance from it. And with her actively hiding from the Android, there was no way that he was going to be able to find her.

“Now what?” Scott asked as Gitta made it back to the jet, setting her bow and quiver down on one of the seats in the back.

“We wait for Clint to get Wanda out of there, then we head to Germany.” Gitta replied. It was only a few minutes later that Clint and Wanda clambered up the ramp, and by the time they had stopped, Gitta already had the jet in the air, and headed for Germany. There was a disused S.H.I.E.L.D hanger in the Berlin Airport that they could hide the Quinjet in, rather than take it to the Avenger’s one in Leipzig/Halle airport.

“Gitta.” Wanda muttered as Gitta finished setting the Autopilot.

“Wanda, c’mon.” Gitta said, a sad smile passing over her face as she recognised the turmoil within the younger woman. “I know what it’s like.” She said quietly, was she walked over to the young girl.

“Don’t get too close, I could hurt you.” Wanda said, as she stepped away from the older woman.

“And whatever Vision has said to you is wrong. I’ve lived in fear before, and let me tell you, it does nothing.” She replied, opening her arms so that she could hug the young woman. “The best thing I’ve found is tea, watching your emotions and breathing exercises.” Gitta instructed. “Lagos was not your fault, and everyone should recognise that.” She added, “You’re still getting to know your powers, and that’s what Steve told me in the debrief. He said that you stepped in without even having to be asked, and did your best, even though you’d never done something like that before.” She finished, sliding the girl down onto the closest seat. “Have a rest, we’ve got a bit of a flight and drive ahead of us.” Gitta added, looking up at Scott for the last part, already finding the Californian asleep in his seat.


End file.
